Sunday, January 27, 2002
[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
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Goo gets 300th win It's been an eventful month for Hawaii basketball coach Vince Goo.
as late birthday gift
The Wahine efficiently tore apart
Fresno State for a milestone victoryBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThough you wouldn't know it from talking to him.
Eleven days ago he celebrated his 55th birthday and yesterday the Wahine gave him a belated birthday present -- win No. 300.
Before 1,680 at the Stan Sheriff Center, Hawaii defeated Fresno State 69-53. Goo, the winningest coach in Wahine basketball history, was presented with the game ball and leis after the game.
"I can't remember (all the wins) but every one's been good," Goo said. "We were down in the first half and we really got a lot better in the second half. Defensively, everybody did a great job."
His 300th win was marred only by guard April Atuaia's injury to her left knee. The junior was called for a charge after crashing into 6-foot-4 Mindy Clark while trying to take the ball to the hole. Atuaia did not return to the game. She will be have an MRI tomorrow.
But with a game plan scripted to perfection by Goo, Hawaii pulled together and won from the free-throw line.
The Wahine knew that the Bulldogs sent opponents to the free-throw line a lot, and they took advantage. They scored 23 points from the charity stripe, led by Natasja Allen, who was 6-for-6, and senior Karena Greeny who was 6 of 9. The guard had her third double-double of the season with a team high 18 points and 13 rebounds.
"It's unbelievable," Fresno State coach Britt King said. "It's tough to come here. It's hard to believe they got a chance to go to the free-throw line 31 times. We only got three opportunities to go."
Hawaii ruined the homecoming of Bulldog freshman Aritta Lane. In foul trouble early in the game, the 6-0 forward opened the second half with just her third basket of the game. The Aiea High alumna scored three baskets in a row to pull the Bulldogs into a 38-38 tie with 12:23 to go.
"During that timeout the players were looking around and thinking 'Hey, we're in a ball game'," Goo said. "We just dug down on defense and made some real good stops. We contested the shots and got our offense going."
Christen Roper had 14 points, five rebounds and one blocked shot. She was part of the reason that Lane started shooting from the outside.
Lane picked up where she left off the last time she played in the arena. Lane scored her first two baskets inside the paint to help the Bulldogs take an early 9-5 lead.
"It felt good (to be back)," Lane said. "We had a good practice yesterday. We made mistakes and they got hot. I don't think we dropped in any way. We didn't lessen our game, they just did a lot more things."
Lane finished with 12 points but had only two rebounds.
Bull Dogs (8-11, 3-6 wac) Hawaii 69, Fresno St. 63
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Copeland 0 1 0 0 6 1 0 0 Logan 6 18 0 0 33 2 5 15 Garcia 0 1 0 0 8 1 0 0 Mack 2 7 0 0 20 0 1 5 Moore 0 1 0 0 5 2 0 0 Holston 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Barnes 1 6 0 0 20 0 3 2 Simon 0 6 2 2 24 7 1 2 High 1 2 0 0 21 7 1 2 Udeze 2 7 0 0 15 5 2 0 Lane 6 11 0 0 25 4 3 12 Stayton 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 Clark 5 7 0 1 19 3 0 10 Team 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 23 68 2 3 200 35 16 63 Wahine (13-4, 6-2 Wac)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Willoughby 1 2 4 6 13 3 0 6 Abele 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 Gabrielova 3 12 2 4 34 8 3 10 Roper 6 11 2 2 34 5 0 14 Brossman 0 1 2 2 9 0 0 2 Gabriel 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 Atuaia 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 2 Allen 4 9 6 9 29 6 0 14 Greeny 5 9 6 9 37 13 3 18 Wagner 2 9 1 2 30 5 4 5 Team 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 Totals 21 55 23 31 200 45 11 69 Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime-Hawaii 27, Fresno St. 23
3-point goals--Hawaii4-18 (Gabrielova 2-9, Wagner 0-4, Greeny 2-4, Brossman 0-1), Fresno St. 5-20 (Logan 3-8, Mack 1-4, Udeze 1-2, Copelani 0-1, Barnes 0-3, Simon 0-2). Personal fouls--Hawaii 11, Fresno St. 24. Technical fouls--Fresno St. 1 (Bench). Steals--Hawaii 7 (Gabrielova 4, Wagner 3), Fresno St. 7 (Logan, Mack, Barnes, Simon, High, Lane, Clark). Blocked shots--Hawaii 2 (Roper, Gabrielova), Fresno St. 2 (High, Clark). Turnovers--Hawaii 16, Fresno St. 17. Officials--Johnson, Inouye, Yamasaki. A--1,680.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii