Thursday, December 27, 2001
Western Athletic Conference women's basketball has a new and exciting look this season. WAC contenders
looking up at LaTechBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThere will be a new champion as Texas Christian left for Conference USA.
Boise State and Louisiana Tech joined the conference, but it is the Lady Techsters' mere presence that sets the standard higher than ever before in the league.
Louisiana Tech, picked to win the WAC title in the preseason coaches poll, has participated in all 20 NCAA Women's tournaments, been to 13 Final Fours, played in eight national championship games and won three. Never has a WAC team carried such credentials.
"This is a team that could be in the Final Four this year," said Hawaii coach Vince Goo. "It's a challenge to get your program better to compete against them. For the teams that don't improve their programs, they still have to play Louisiana Tech twice.
"I know by playing them twice, it will really help our RPI rating. Even when we were in the Big West Conference, we never had a team with this much prestige."
Don't be fooled by Louisiana Tech's 5-3 record. The Lady Techsters are ranked No. 10 by ESPN/USA Today and No. 11 by Associated Press. Their losses have been to No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Tennessee and No. 8 Duke.
Here is a look at the UH opponents in the order they appear on the Wahine schedule. The WAC begins league play tomorrow. Each team's nonconference record is in parentheses.
Boise State (4-6)
Coach: Trisha Stevens, sixth year (71-79).
2000-01 WAC record: First year.
Players to watch: Christa Peterson, 6-2 junior forward; Andrea Swindall, 6-3 senior center; Abby Vaughn, 5-7 junior guard.
Outlook: The Broncos return four starters from last year's 12-17 team that finished fourth in the Big West Conference. Peterson, Swindall and Vaughn were the top three scorers a year ago, accounting for half of the Broncos' offense (32.5 points per game). Peterson (15.0) and Vaughn (10.8) have picked up where they left off last year, but Swindall (6.1 ppg) has struggled. Mandy Welch, a sophomore shooting guard, has started the last six games and is averaging nine points a game.
Texas-El Paso (2-6)
Coach: Keitha Green, first year (2-6)
2000-01 WAC record: 4-12.
Players to watch: Katie Pyle, 5-8 senior guard; Tiffney Touton, 5-8 sophomore guard; Rome DeAnda, 6-1 junior forward.
Outlook: The Miners have a new coach who was 127-37 in five seasons at Independence Community College. Green inherits a program that has posted a winning season just three times in the last 11 years. She brought in five players, but the Miners are not a tall team. They lost their first five games by an average of 32 points. JC transfer Dragana Zoric is scoring at a 15.2 ppg clip, but Green faces a difficult first year in El Paso.
San Jose State (5-4)
Coach: Janice Richard, 9th year (180-78).
2000-01 WAC record: 4-12.
Players to watch: Atari Parker, 5-9 graduate student guard; Elea A'Giza, 5-10 senior forward; Cricket Williams, 5-7 sophomore guard.
Outlook: The Spartans return four starters from last year's team that won 13 games, the most in eight seasons. Williams is back to run the offense from the point and tops the Spartans with 17 points a game. Parker and A'Giza also are scoring in double figures. Richard recruited three junior college players to add depth and provide better defense.
Southern Methodist (5-5)
Coach: Rhonda Rompola, 11th year (199-108).
2000-01 WAC record: 11-5.
Players to watch: Kaci Alexander, 6-4 junior center; Andrea Cossey, 5-11 sophomore guard; Kenni Patton, 5-11 junior guard.
Outlook: With no seniors on the roster, the Lady Mustangs may appear to be young, but coach Rompola has experienced underclassmen back. The young recruits may see a lot of minutes, although 6-3 freshman center Keely Cox is lost for the season with an ACL tear in her left knee. That leaves Rompola with nine healthy players. Turnovers have hurt in the nonconference games.
Louisiana Tech (5-3)
Coach: Leon Barmore, 20th year (556-85).
2000-01 WAC record: First year.
Players to watch: Ayana Walker, 6-3 senior center; Takeisha Lewis, 6-2 senior center; Brooke Lassiter, 5-9 senior guard.
Outlook: Coach Barmore's teams win 87 percent of their games. The Lady Techsters have won 30 or more games for six consecutive years. All five starters return from last year's NCAA tournament elite eight team and Barmore gets 6-2 sophomore forward Caterina Frierson back after she missed last year with an ACL injury. The Lady Techsters leave the Sun Belt Conference with 52 consecutive league wins and are poised to run the table in the WAC.
Rice (5-3)
Coach: Cristy McKinney, 11th year (166-132).
2000-01 WAC record: 9-7.
Players to watch: Kim Lawson, 5-7 junior guard; Kate Beckler, 5-8 sophomore guard; Daneesh Mcintosh, 6-0 senior forward.
Outlook: The Owls have 10 lettermen and four starters back. They are joined by three recruits who go 6-2, 6-4 and 6-5, giving Rice more height than the Owls have enjoyed in recent years. They opened with five consecutive wins, but lost the last three games to No. 21 Texas Tech by 31 points, to Arizona by 9 and to No. 23 Louisiana State by 25. McKinney has experimented with 10 different players in the starting lineup so far.
Tulsa (5-5)
Coach: Kathy McConnell-Miller, 3rd year (27-41).
2000-01 WAC record: 4-12.
Players to watch: Leela Farr, 5-11 senior forward; Carla Morrow, 6-0 senior forward; Candice Brewer, 5-8 sophomore guard.
Outlook: Three of the top four Golden Hurricane scorers return and are joined by a recruiting class ranked 41st in the nation by Women's Basketball Journal. Farr, Morrow, Rachel Hall and Mia Williams need to provide senior leadership. The Golden Hurricane have solid height in the front court. McConnell-Miller will have to settle on a point guard from three contenders.
Nevada (3-6)
Coach: Ada Gee, 10th year (103-129).
2000-01 WAC record: 9-7.
Players to watch: Kate Smith, 6-2 junior center; Ashley Bastian, 5-8 junior guard; Katie Golomb, 6-1 senior forward.
Outlook: Three returning starters and seven lettermen give coach Gee a solid nucleus on which to build and improve on last year's 16-13 record. The Wolf Pack are balanced offensively with Smith and Golomb working inside and Bastian able to hit from long range (made 41 percent of her 3-point attempts a year ago). It's hard to figure the Wolf Pack losing five consecutive games entering WAC play.
Fresno State (5-5)
Coach: Britt King, 10th year (101-131).
2000-01 WAC record: 6-10.
Players to watch: Lindsay Logan, 5-6 junior guard; Tiffany Simon, 5-9 junior guard; Omelogo Udeze, 6-1 junior forward.
Outlook: The Bulldogs try to stop a three-game losing streak when they open conference play against SMU and Louisiana Tech, the first time they have played a ranked team since 1995. Freshman Aritta Lane, an Aiea High School alumnus, has been a wonderful surprise for FSU. She is leading the WAC in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and has three double-doubles. Undeze also has been playing well.
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