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WAHINE BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

Galloway voted
team captain

Kylie Galloway felt she was ready to assume a leadership role with the Wahine -- and her teammates agreed.

The vote for this year's team captain was unanimous.

The sixth-year senior, who redshirted in 1996-97 after transferring from San Jose State and endured a medical hardship season in 1998-99 with a severe ankle injury, has a wealth of experience to draw from in handling the new role.

"I'm glad I'm the captain. I think the team needs a leader out there and I think this year I'm ready to be that leader both vocally and by example," Galloway said.

"We have a great set of new girls here and they don't need much leadership. Maybe in a game like against Western Kentucky, I'll calm the tempers down. But we work together real well and they don't need much guidance from me so I have an easy job."

Crystal clear

"My coach, Jon Newlee, told my dad a couple of days ago that he expected the end of last season to carry straight over to this year. That's when it dawned on me. You can't regress, you have to progress," said Crystal Lee, Wahine forward and Western Athletic Conference women's basketball Player of the Week.

Lee started all 27 games as a sophomore and averaged 10.3 points a game. However, she lost the starting job last year, struggling on the court and with her emotions.

Lee said she wasn't happy with the situation, but was dealing with it. She kept working on her game and regained a starting spot late in the season. She scored in double figures in five of the last six games.

She continued with summer workouts when not teaching swimming to youngsters ages 4 to 12. It's paid off with 21, 23 and 19 point games in the Hawaiian Regent Hotel Classic.

"When you come out and play well as a team and get a team victory , you forget about all those early morning workouts, even if it's for a short time," Lee said.

Getting minutes

April Atuaia has average 17 minutes a game, the most of any reserve, for the first three Wahine contests. She has been active off the boards with 4.3 rebounds and a positive part of the offense with two assists and four points a game.

"It's unexpected. I didn't expect to be playing that many minutes," said Atuaia, a 5-foot-10 freshman wing from Kahuku High School.

Always a starter during her high school career, Atuaia said it hasn't been an adjustment to come off the bench. She says it's good.

"I can do whatever the coach needs me to do when I go in. It gives me a chance to observe what the older players are doing and watch the player I'm going to guard," Atuaia said.

Goo's numbers

Among active NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches, Hawaii's Vince Goo is 35th on the winning percentage list (.692) and tied for 70th on the career victory list (261) starting the 2000-2001 season.

Poll watch

The Wahine received three votes (tie for No. 49) in this weeks ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. They did not receive votes in the Associated Press Poll.

Injury update

Redshirt freshman Julia Washington had a bone scan done on her bruised left foot, which indicated the second metatarsal had suffered a stress fracture. The 6-foot forward from Glendora, Calif., is expected to be out six to eight weeks.

Looking ahead

Louisiana Tech, which joins the Western Athletic Conference for the 2001-02 season, won the Women's Preseason NIT with a 68-63 win over No. 4 Purdue.

Alumnae roll call

Hedy Liu is living in Oceanside, Calif., and working for the Boys and Girls Club in San Diego, where she is in charge of the elementary after school program.

BJ Itoman has been accepted into the Hawaii Air National Guard pilot training program.

Tiffany Fujimoto is taking some required classes at El Camino Community College and plans to apply for the physician's assistant program at the University of Utah and start classes there next fall.

Nani Cockett expects to hear from her agent in the next couple of days that airline tickets are in hand and everything is set for her to continue her professional career in Greece.

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Al Chase, Star-Bulletin