Monday, November 19, 2001
[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
The Hawaii women's basketball team was able to deal successfully with different circumstances in each game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic. Wahine wipe out early
14-point deficit in routBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comSaturday, it was maintaining intensity and turning back a determined comeback bid. Yesterday, the Wahine stumbled at the start and had to find a way to erase a 10-point deficit 14 minutes into the championship game against the Portland State Vikings at the Stan Sheriff Center.
They found the way, en route to a 68-55 victory.
Trading scoring streaks with the Vikings (1-1) in the first half, the Wahine rode the last run, a 16-2 spurt, to a not-so-comfortable 32-27 lead at the half.
"We weren't playing their personnel the way we were supposed to in the first half," said UH captain Karena Greeny. "Like their guards, we're playing a penetrator and we're letting her drive and dish. We were letting their shooters shoot and they were hitting everything."
At the same time, the Wahine weren't hitting anything. Natasja Allen converted two free throws with 4:02 left before intermission, the first UH points since Jana Gabrielova's bucket at 11:40.
"We had a streak in the first half where we went one pass, shot with no offensive rebounding," said UH coach Vince Goo.
"The difference in the second half was we played better defense and our shot selection was a lot better. We showed a lot more patience and got the ball reversed on the floor."
Swinging the ball from one side to the other effectively opened up the inside game for Hawaii, and, when that wasn't available, made the perimeter shots more favorable. The Wahine scored just eight first-half points in the paint, but increased that to 22 in the second half.
Allen and Christen Roper, the tournament MVP, scored 19 points apiece and combined to collect 24 of UH's 45 rebounds, many of them coming in the second half after the Vikings held a 16-14 advantage in the opening half.
Portland State battled back to tie the score at 36 with 15:29 to go on a 3-point play by Staci Kleier, who led the Vikings with 13 points.
It wasn't until the 7:03 mark that Hawaii had a double-digit lead, 52-42. To get there, Gabrielova made two free throws, Roper scored six points, Christa Brossman put back a missed shot, Chelsea Wagner hit two from the charity stripe and Allen made three free throws.
During that time, Gabrielova and Michelle Gabriel both did a fine job of running the offense.
"Michelle had a great first half the first night, was a little shaky in the second half, but the two times she went in today, she really handled the team well."
The trip was a good visit for PSU coach George Wolfe and his Vikings, who were decimated by injuries a year ago.
"It wasn't until the end of last year we stopped waiting around for something else to happen," said Wolfe who was a UH assistant for 12 years.
"I remember when we went through that 6-20 season. We still came out every day to practice and coached to win. I think my girls have learned a lot here, that they have to play through the entire game. They certainly did against Texas A&M."
The game also had a special significance for three Wahine.
"For me and Tash and Rope, Coach Wolfe recruited us, so obviously we wanted to show him that we had improved and that we were good recruits. That was a little incentive for us," said Greeny.
"It was like playing ourselves. Coach Wolfe runs the same system we do."
The tournament gave the UH coaches a chance to see the younger players under fire, identify possible strengths and take note of things to work on in practice this week before opening play in the Panda Travel Rainbow Wahine Classic Friday against Wyoming.
Texas A&M 71, Washington State 56: The Aggies and Cougars were locked in a tight contest for 29 minutes. Jami Clevenger's layup pulled WSU to within five points, 48-43, with 10:41 to play. That's when the Aggies (1-1) grabbed control of the game by scoring the next 22 points.
Kim Moore led the charge with seven points while LaToya Rose and Celeria Washington scored six apiece. Washington led A&M with 17 points.
Lindsey Egeland was high for the Cougars (0-2) with 12 points, while Brittney Hawks pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
