Rainbows Playbook
vs. Rice Owls
Wahine Playbook
Tipoff: Tonight 7:05 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Coaches: Hawaii, Riley Wallace, 15th season (212-208, .504 ); Rice, Willis Wilson, 8th season (102-116, .467)
Season records: Hawaii (4-7 WAC, 15-9 overall); Rice (0-10 WAC, 4-18 overall)
Series record: Hawaii leads the all-time series with the Owls, 6-1. Hawaii defeated the Owls, 68-65, at Rice's Autry Court in Houston on Jan. 20 for the Rainbows' only road win this season. The only time Hawaii lost to Rice was on Dec. 27, 1981 (69-59) in the Rainbow Classic opener.
Top players: Rice, Erik Cooper, 6-6 junior forward (21.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Mike Wilks, 5-11 junior guard (15.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Alex Bougaieff, 6-11 senior forward (13.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), T.J. McKenzie, 6-11 sophomore forward (7.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Jay Christian, 6-5 freshman forward (7.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg). Hawaii, Marquette Alexander, 6-8 senior center (15.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg); Predrag Savovic, 6-6 sophomore guard (12.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 apg); Troy Ostler, 6-9 junior forward (11.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg); Johnny White, 6-1 senior guard (8.7 ppg, 3.0 apg); Nerijus Puida, 6-5 junior forward (6.9 ppg, 5.0 apg); Geremy Robinson, 6-4 senior guard-forward (7.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg).
Interesting facts: The Rainbows have three more WAC games, plus at least one game at the WAC tournament to raise their win total to 18 and possibly earn a berth in the NIT. But after tonight, Hawaii will play all of its games on the road...Ostler passed Mike Robinson (1998-99) and Erin Galloway (1998-99) for 10th on the Rainbows' all-time single-season list for blocked shots...Mike McIntyre is first on the all-time Hawaii single-season list for 3-point shooting. He is tied for 9th all-time with Jarinn Akana (1991-93) and Micah Kroeger (1995-98) ... After the loss to Tulsa, Hawaii hangs in at 19th in the NCAA in shooting percentage (48.2). Tulsa is 16th (48.5) ... Rice is coming off a 52-48 overtime loss at San Jose State Thursday night. Bougaieff led the Owls with 14 points in that game ... Alexander seeks his 20th straight double-digit scoring game.
Game keys: "We have to just get out on them early and play them like Tulsa," said White. "Over there (Jan. 20 at Rice), we got down early because they disguise their defenses and we have to recognize that." ... Hawaii must continue to win the battle off the glass. The Rainbows have outrebounded their last three opponents, 114-89 ... Savovic, who fouled out of the Tulsa game midway through the second half, must avoid picking up clumsy fouls and cut down on his turnovers. He had five on Thursday.
On the air: Broadcast live on KCCN radio (1420 AM) and KFVE TV (Channel 5), also available on the internet at http//uhathletics.hawaii.edu/Sportslive/listen.html.
By Pat Bigold
Wahine Playbook
at Rice Owls
Tipoff: Tomorrow, 11:30 a.m., Autry Court, Houston.
Coaches: Hawaii, Vince Goo, 13th season (258-113, .695); Rice, Christy McKinney, 9th season (143-117, .550).
Season records: Hawaii (9-2 WAC, 17-6 overall); Rice (6-3 WAC, 14-8 overall).
Series record: Hawaii's leads the series, 3-1. In the last meeting, Jan. 20, 2000, the Wahine rallied in the second half for a 71-66 home victory.
Top players: Rice, Marla Brumfield, 5-foot-9 senior guard (13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game); Kirra Jordan, 6-1 senior forward (13.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg); Kim Smallwood, 5-10 senior forward (7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg); 6-1 Kenya Tuttle, junior center (7.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg) ... Hawaii, Raylene Howard, 5-11 senior guard (17.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg); Kylie Galloway, 6-0 junior forward (13.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg); Kyla Evers, 5-8 senior guard (10.6 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.0 steals a game).
Interesting facts: Rice is undefeated in six Western Athletic Conference home games this season and is 9-1 overall in Autry Court ... Kirra Jordan scored a season-high 20 points against UH in the first game this season ... Coach McKinney rotates eight players to keep the five on the floor fresh for 40 minutes of pressure defense ... The Wahine have lost two consecutive games just once this season ... Hawaii was called for nine fouls against Tulsa, but Kylie Galloway became the fifth Wahine to foul out of a game in 1999-2000 when she drew her fifth foul with 3:07 to play ... No Rice starter played more than 24 minutes in Thursday's rout of San Jose State which scored seven points in the first half.
Game keys: After their worst shooting night of the season, the Wahine play a team with the quickness and agility to keep any opponent's offense sputtering ... "The key will be how we shoot there. It's just a hard place to shoot the ball for the visiting team. We always had trouble when I was at SMU," said UH assistant coach Jon Newlee ... Since the game was moved from Saturday to Sunday to accommodate regional TV, Hawaii gets an extra day to practice in Autry Court. Hopefully they will be more accustomed to the arena which is more like a 4,000-seat high school gym ... The Owls are a veteran team who like to pressure a lot and this bothered the Wahine in the first meeting. However, Hawaii has faced nothing but pressure defenses in recent games and should be adept at handling pressure. If the Wahine don't, they are in trouble ... The Wahine need to help teammates on defense to counter the Owls quickness ... Maybe Goo will remind the Wahine that Rice ended a 19-game Hawaii winning streak here two years ago or that the Owls, with five conference games left, have the best chance of overtaking Hawaii if the WAC race comes down to a battle for second place.
On the air: Broadcast live on KCCN radio (1420 AM); also available on the internet at http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu/Sportslive/listen.html
By Al Chase
