Saturday, March 24, 2001

New Mexico stands
tall in Hawaii’s way
for WNIT final

In the face of a tough road challenge,
head coach Vince Goo reminds
Wahine to have fun

---

By Al Chase
Star-Bulletin

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. >> Enjoy the moment. Enjoy being in the final four.

That was the advice that University of Hawaii head coach Vince Goo gave his Wahine basketball team prior to yesterday's practice.

Seven out of nine times this season the Wahine have gone into an opposing arena and come out with a victory. No. 8 won't be easy.

Soon after the excitement waned following the victory over Oklahoma State Wednesday, the UH coaches acknowledged tonight's Women's National Invitation Tournament semifinal against the University of New Mexico would be a difficult test.

The assessment?

"They are a very good team and they all shoot the 3," UH assistant coach Da Houl said.

Serenda Valdez, another UH assistant, pointed out other problems the Lobos present: "Their post players run like guards. Miranda Sanchez and Jordan Adams can come out and shoot the 3, and our post players aren't used to defending on the perimeter."

Said Goo: "I looked at them for a lot of years and they have played well down the stretch. They've got nine or 10 people rotating who can score. They all play good defense. They are known to play fundamental, sound basketball."

The coaches' assessment didn't change after they watched a game tape that was waiting at the hotel when they checked in yesterday.

Sanchez, a 6-foot-1 senior forward, and Nikki Heckroth, a 5-8 senior guard, were on the UNM team that upset the Wahine in the first round of the 1998 Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Adams, a 6-3 sophomore center, was heavily recruited by UH.

Molly McKinnon, a 5-8 junior guard, is the Lobos' third-leading scorer, behind Adams and Sanchez. Starting point guard Chelsea Grear only averages 5.9 points a game, but can't be ignored -- she hit her first six shots in UNM's victory over Alabama-Birmingham Wednesday.

Unlike their first three WNIT opponents, who the Wahine (26-7) enjoyed a height advantage over, the Lobos (21-12) match up well with the Wahine. The power game will be prominent at both ends of the court.

New Mexico does well at getting to the foul line, but also gives up free trips. The Lobos have been fouled 90 more times than they've fouled, while the Wahine have been fouled 399 more times than they've fouled.

Goo expects UNM to throw a variety of defenses -- a full-court trap, a half-court trap, man ... you name it -- against his team.

The Wahine will have to fight through screens on penetrating drives to stay with their defensive responsibility, yet they must respect the Lobos' propensity for the 3-point shot.

In the last few games, the Lobos have managed to take care of the ball well. Against Alabama-Birmingham they had just eight turnovers.

Goo thinks the Wahine will be able to control their reaction to the crowd and be in control on offense and defense.

"Some things we can't control," he said. "One is the altitude (a mile high) and how we're affected by it. And, hopefully we can control the red-eye flight and get rested. We'll find out as the game goes on.''

Goo will monitor the Wahine carefully. He expects to have a different five on the floor after each timeout. The key with frequent substitutions is sustaining continuity and momentum. Although most basketball games are a succession of spurts, the Wahine have experienced some lengthy dry spells on offense in all three WNIT games. They have survived by being steady in the final five to seven minutes of each game. Yet, it's doubtful they can afford continuing that trend tonight.

Wahine notes:

UH has submitted a bid of $50,000-plus to host the championship game Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center should they win tonight. ... UNM head coach Don Flanagan missed yesterday's practice with a bad case of the flu. ... Janice Ruggiero, UNM assistant athletic director, on Flanagan and Goo: "I think they are close in coaching styles because they are teachers of the game. They want their players to understand the game, not just play the game." ... Goo is 287-123 in his 14th season. Flanagan is 121-62 in his sixth season at UNM. ... As of 3 p.m. yesterday, 6,500 tickets had been sold for tonight's game. The crowd is expected to top 8,000. ... UNM has won the last three games against UH and leads the all-time series, 5-4. The last time the teams played was Feb. 7, 1999, here in The Pit with the Lobos winning, 69-55.

WAHINE BASKETBALL When: 4 p.m. today Where: The Pit, Albuquerque, New Mexico TV: Live, KFVE Radio: Live, 1420-AM Internet: www.uhathlet ics.hawaii.edu/ Sport slive/listen.html

Starting Lineups

HAWAII (26-7)

		Ht.	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.
G	Jana Gabrielova (Jr.)	5-6	8.5	2.9	4.2
G	April Atuaia (Fr.)	5-10	6.5	4.6	2.1
F	Crystal Lee (Sr.)	5-11	16.3	6.0	2.0
F	Dainora Puida (Sr.)	6-4	11.2	8.4	1.1
C	Christen Roper (So.)	1-0	5.1	5.8	0.5

NEW MEXICO (21-12)

		Ht.	Pts.	Reb.	Ast.
G	Nikki Heckroth (Sr.)	5-8	4.8	4.2	4.7
G	Molly McKinnon (Jr.)	5-8	10.3	3.9	3.7
F	Chelsea Grear (So.)	5-10	5.9	5.2	1.1
F	Miranda Sanchez (Sr.)	6-1	13.2	5.3	1.1
C	Jordan Adams (So.)	6-3	14.3	5.5	1.3

---

UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii