Wednesday, January 16, 2002
[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
Wahine continue All the Hawaii Wahine basketball players need to do is look at the Western Athletic Conference standings to understand the importance of their two-game road trip to Texas and Oklahoma.
schedule against the
best of the WAC
UH goes on the road against the
second and third place
teams in the conferenceBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe Wahine are in fourth place with a 3-1 league record. The Rice Owls, tomorrow's opponent, are a half game ahead with a 4-1 record. Sunday's foe, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, is 5-0 in second place a half game behind WAC leader Louisiana Tech (6-0).
The Owls only defeat came in a road game at Tulsa, 67-61.
"This is a big week for us because all three games (starting with Louisiana Tech) are against people in the upper half of the conference," said UH coach Vince Goo.
To make things more interesting, the Wahine have never beaten Rice in Houston. They have lost by scores of 76-71, 77-59. All three games were played on Sunday afternoons because of regional telecasts.
Although they are not superstitious, Goo and assistant coach Da Houl were quick to point out this match up is on Thursday and there is no TV.
After losing their WAC opener to Tulsa, Rice has defeated Fresno State, Nevada, Boise State and Texas-El Paso, four of the bottom five teams in the conference.
Kara Liggett leads Rice in scoring with 10.4 points per game but the rest of the starting five all average eight points or better.
"The Owls haven't changed much over the years," said Houl. "They use a full-court press for 40 minutes, face guard you right away and double team the heck out of you. They are very athletic as usual."
Hawaii matches up well with Rice on size but will have to avoid foul trouble and stay healthy.
Natasja Allen responded well in the Louisiana Tech game after spraining her left ankle two days before against Southern Methodist. Kim Willoughby was limited to 15 minutes of action (doctor's orders) against Tech, but should be fully recovered from her two-day hospital stay.
"I was very encouraged by Natasja's performance. She wasn't 100 percent. To have an injury and play a team like Louisiana Tech that injury can become a major injury, but she gutted it out physically and mentally," Goo said.
Tulsa's conference record is not a surprise to Goo despite being picked to finish seventh in the coaches preseason poll. The difference this year is Tulsa is healthy and returns starters Candice Brewer, Leela Farr and Carla Morrow. Freshman guard LeAnn Upshaw has earned a starting spot and Alyssa Shriver, a transfer from Iowa State, completes the starting five.
The Golden Hurricane put pressure on the opposing point guard, play man-to-man defense, but don't normally press full court like Rice.
This could be an exhausting two games for UH point guard Janka Gabrielova. The press is designed to create turnovers and easy transition baskets but it also wears down those opponents charged with getting the ball up court.
Notes: The Wahine dropped two spots to No. 32 in the latest ESPN/USA Today Top 25 coaches poll. ... Tulsa's Shriver is the Western Athletic Conference women's basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 7-Jan. 13. Shriver set a school record with 10 consecutive baskets in a win against UTEP. She scored 22 points against the Miners with 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double. The 6-foot-3 center also led Tulsa to a win over Boise State, scoring a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds with three blocked shots.
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