Thursday, December 6, 2001
The challenges continue for Hawaii this weekend as the Wahine host Baylor (7-0) and Illinois-Chicago (5-0) in the Tesoro Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center. Wahine’s tourney
features No. 9 BaylorBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comUH assistant coach Jon Newlee tried in vain for weeks to bring a fourth team in when Pacific suddenly dropped out last summer, but the three-night, round-robin affair certainly will provide the Wahine the opportunity to test their ball-protection skills.
The Bears, ranked No. 9 by the Associated Press and No. 13 in the coaches poll, and the Flames operate with three-guard offenses. That usually means a starting five with quick, athletic players who thrive on stealing the ball and getting easy layups.
Baylor averages 13.8 steals per game led by do-everything point guard Sheila Lambert, who has 23 and leads the team in scoring with an 18.0 average. LaKesha Williams, the UIC off-guard, leads the Flames with 18 and is the second-leading scorer with 11.8 points per game.
For contrast, Hawaii averages 5.2 steals per game. However, the Wahine offense is the half-court variety, which doesn't rely on steals, but more on forcing opposing offensive players away from their strengths. Keeping an opponent who likes to penetrate and shoot from doing that would be a good example.
If the steal isn't available to the Bears and Flames, they will turn the transition game into a track meet if they pull down the defensive rebounds.
All three teams average better than 40 rebounds a game, so boxing out effectively at both ends of the court will be a key for everyone.
"Baylor will be quicker than anyone we played this year. We've done a pretty good job of limiting the fast break offense, but this will be a real test for us," UH coach Vince Goo said.
The Wahine also expect to have to deal with the full-court press against both opponents, Baylor tomorrow at 7 p.m. and Illinois-Chicago on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Baylor made an incredible turnaround last season under first-year head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, a longtime assistant at Louisiana Tech. The Bears were 21-9 and made their first NCAA appearance after going 7-20 in 1999-2000. Mulkey-Robertson lost just one player from last year's team.
The Bears' victories have been by an average of almost 25 points per game. One result that stands out and is of interest to Hawaii is the 86-58 drubbing of Western Athletic Conference foe Nevada in the Nevada Bell Classic at Reno.
Illinois-Chicago is off to its best start since the 1994-95 season.
Coach Tim Eatman's last two recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 20 nationally.
The Flames are led by Zsuzsa Tarnai, a 6-foot-4 junior college transfer from Casper Community College who hails from Budapest, Hungary. She is averaging 14 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and had made 13 of 29 3-pointers.
Note: UH forward Jade Abele is doubtful this weekend. She injured her right foot and will be examined again today. ... The Stan Sheriff Center will look like home to the Baylor Bears. The UH arena is a duplicate of Baylor's Ferrell Center, which seats just 16 fewer fans than the 10,300 capacity at the SSC. The Wahine are 100-33 overall since moving to the Stan Sheriff Center in 1994.
At the Stan Sheriff Center Tesoro Invitational
Tomorrow: Hawaii vs. Baylor, 7 p.m.
Saturday:Baylor vs. Illinois-Chicago, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Hawaii vs. Illinois-Chicago, 5 p.m.
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