The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine open their seventh Western Athletic Conference season still chasing that elusive conference championship. UH has high hopes in WAC
The opponentsBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comHawaii won the 1997-98 Pacific Division title, but has come up a few points short ever since. This year the challenge is to prove the conference coaches wrong. They picked the Wahine to finish third in regular-season play.
The Wahine have relied on balanced scoring and a strong defense to win six of nine preseason games. The only debacle was their last outing against Texas Tech, a 27-point loss.
Rice, the team picked to finish second behind defending league champion Louisiana Tech, hosted No. 10 Texas Tech Monday night and lost 70-66 after leading at the half.
Hawaii returns starters Christen Roper, Natasja Allen and April Atuaia, who are joined by returnees Michelle Gabriel and Jade Abele, who played in 31 and 24 games, respectively, a year ago. This is a veteran group with everyone being in the program at least two years.
As for the team's progress, UH coach Vince Goo said, "We have a 25 RPI rating and our strength of schedule is 16th. I feel pretty good about that. I think the players have a good grasp of what we want to do. We still will add a few new things for the second half of the conference schedule."
The only question mark this weekend is Atuaia, who was sick Christmas week and just returned to practice Monday. She is questionable as a starter tomorrow night.
"We'll see how she does in practice. Right now she is day to day," said Goo.
Kim Willoughby has joined the team now that volleyball season is finished.
"Kim knows the plays and she has picked it up quickly this year. We ran through every play on offense and defense today (yesterday)," said assistant coach Serenda Valdez. "She is a smart and intelligent athlete. If Kim runs a pattern and realizes it is wrong, she makes the correction instead of just stopping."
The Wahine open against the Texas-El Paso Miners, who already have more wins than a year ago.
"There are two things that make them better," Goo said. "Their coach is in her second year and she has brought in players to her liking. She is probably running the system she wants with the personnel she wants."
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Here is a capsule look at the conference teams in the order they play Hawaii in the first round with the overall record in parentheses. The opponents
Texas-El Paso (5-5)
Coach: Keitha Green, second year (8-30).
2002 WAC record: 1-17 (10th).
Players to watch: 5-foot-10 senior forward Dragana Zoric, 6-1 senior center Romie DeAnda.
Outlook: Both Zoric and DeAnda have been cited as WAC Players of the Week, an honor no Miner earned last year. UTEP already has more wins than a year ago. Zoric (15.8), Vaida Zagurskyte (14.5) and Kia Dowell (12.9) are the top scorers. The Miners, outscored by 20 points a game in 2001-02, have turned things around and have scored 70 points a game this season while surrendering 66.
Boise State (3-7)
Coach: Jen Warden, first year (3-7).
2002 WAC record: 5-13 (eighth).
Players to watch: 5-6 senior guard Abby Vaughn, 5-10 junior forward Mandy Welch.
Outlook: The Broncos were picked to finish last in the WAC in the preseason coaches poll. ... Welch and Camille Woodfield are the top returning scorers. ... Early season success has escaped first-year coach Warden, as the Broncos are being outscored by almost 10 points per game. ... The wins have come against Weber State, Idaho and Portland State.
Southern Methodist (6-4)
Coach: Rhonda Rompola, 12th year (212-125).
2002 WAC record: 6-12 (tie, sixth).
Players to watch: 5-11 junior guard Andrea Cossey, 6-4 senior center Kaci Alexander, 5-8 junior guard Shanta Ramdhanny.
Outlook: The Lady Mustangs have started well this year after suffering through the only losing season in coach Rompola's 11 years at SMU a year ago. ... The big preseason victory was a 71-68 upset of then-No. 15 Oklahoma on Dec. 21 on Cossey's 3-pointer with seven seconds left. ... Senior guard Kenni Patton is out until sometime this month with a sprained ligament in her left knee.
Louisiana Tech (7-2)
Coach: Kurt Budke, first year (7-2).
2002 WAC record: 17-1 (first).
Players to watch: 6-3 senior center Cheryl Ford, 5-9 junior guard Amber Obaze, 6-2 junior forward Catrina Frierson.
Outlook: The Lady Techsters return just four letterwinners, led by Ford, last year's leading scorer. Budke has taken nine newcomers and molded a team that dumped No. 25 New Mexico 67-54 in The Pit in the final tune-up for WAC play. It was the 800th win for the Tech program. ... For the third consecutive season, Louisiana Tech is picked to win the conference title. ... The losses have been on the road to Tennessee and Western Kentucky. ... Four players score in double figures, as the Lady Techsters average 14 points a game more than their opponents.
San Jose State (4-5)
Coach: Janice Richard, 10th year (196-90).
2002 WAC record: 12-6 (fourth).
Players to watch: 5-7 junior guard Crickett Williams, 6-0 junior forward Tatiana Taylor.
Outlook: The Spartans ended a streak of losing seasons last year with a 17-12 campaign, and Richard was rewarded by being named WAC Coach of the Year. She had two starters and seven letterwinners back. However, SJSU lost its first home game Monday night 61-54 to Santa Clara and has yet to play consistent basketball. ... Junior guard Jessica Kellogg has stepped into the starting lineup and is scoring 13.1 points a game.
Fresno State (6-4)
Coach: Stacy Johnson-Klein, fourth year (29-61).
2002 WAC record: 4-14 (ninth).
Players to watch: 5-6 senior guard Lindsay Logan, 6-0 sophomore forward Aritta Lane, 6-1 senior forward Omelogo Udeze.
Outlook: All five starters are back and the Bulldogs enter WAC play having won five of their last seven games. ... Udeze has led FSU in scoring in four of those games. ... Johnson-Klein inherited a veteran team with five seniors and four juniors. ... One newcomer, JC transfer Chanie Sutherland, has cracked the starting lineup.
Nevada (7-3)
Coach: Ada Gee, 11th year (116-146).
2001 WAC record: 6-12 (tie, sixth)
Players to watch: 6-3 senior center Kate Smith, 5-8 senior guard Ashley Bastian, 5-4 senior guard Laura Ingham.
Outlook: The Wolf Pack are well on their way to rebounding from a 9-19 campaign last year, although they had a five-game winning streak halted by a five-point loss to in-state rival Nevada last Sunday. ... Two-time All-WAC first-team member Smith again leads the way with a 14.5 scoring average. She gets help on the boards from 6-1 sophomore April Bankston, who joined the starting five this season.
Rice (2-6)
Coach: Cristy McKinney, 12th year (184-141).
2002 WAC record: 14-4 (tie, second).
Players to watch: 6-4 junior center Johnetta Hayes, 6-2 junior forward Elisa Inman, 5-10 senior guard Kara Liggett.
Outlook: Picked to finish second in the conference, the Owls have stumbled in preseason, although the losses have been to quality teams like Colorado, Nebraska, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. ... Hayes leads the top four returning scorers with a 12.4 average, but is the only Owl in double figures. ... Rice turns the ball over almost as often as its opponents and rarely wins the rebound battle. However, this is basically the same team that handed Louisiana Tech its first WAC loss a year ago.
Tulsa (5-6)
Coach: Kathy McConnell-Miller, fourth year (44-55).
2002 WAC record: 11-7 (fifth).
Players to watch: 5-11 senior guard Allison Curtain, 5-8 junior guard Candice Brewer, 6-4 senior center Alyssa Shriver.
Outlook: Curtin, who sat out last year after transferring from Illinois, is a preseason All-America candidate. She tops the scoring parade with 25 points a game and had made 23 of 56 3-pointers. It's no surprise Curtin has been the high scorer in every Tulsa game this year. ... Combined with Shriver's 10 points a game, the pair account for over half of Tulsa's scoring. ... The Golden Hurricane are coming off their best season ever and returns nine letterwinners.
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