Talented, tough and blessed with an inner desire to compete and compete and compete some more. Atuaia continues
to push herself
Probable starters
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comIn brief, that is what Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball player April Atuaia is all about.
The junior off guard is motivated in practice and on the court by the level of play of her opponents in the Western Athletic Conference.
"Just knowing there is someone else out there who might be better than me makes it a challenge to raise the level of my game," Atuaia said.
She burst on the scene in the sixth game of her freshman season against Arkansas with her first starting assignment. Atuaia has started 58 of the 60 games she's played in since, and the two misses had nothing to do with her playing ability.
In the 17th game of her sophomore season she suffered an ACL injury to her left knee.
"I went in for a layup, came to a jump stop and the knee kept going," Atuaia said. "I knew it was injured. Those things happen. I was down at first, but I knew I had to move on and work to get ready for this season."
Atuaia waited for a couple of weeks to see if treatment would allow her to play the remainder of the season, but after five minutes against Fresno State on Feb. 21, her season was done. Surgery came a month later.
"I had played with pain before, but with the knee injury I didn't want to try and play and hurt the team, especially with Chelsea Wagner doing such an excellent job.
"I had surgery during spring break. That was tough. I sat at home crying because I couldn't go out and do anything. My parents were probably sick of me."
Atuaia received a lot of encouragement from former Wahine players Hedy Liu and Nani Cockett, both of whom had ACL surgery on both knees.
GAMEDAY
UH vs. San Jose State
When: Today, 5 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: All seats general admission. $7 adults, $6 seniors, $4 for children (age 4-17) and UH students.
Parking: $3Rehabilitation over the summer was frustrating at times, but went well, and Atuaia never had any doubts about wanting to return to the team. There wasn't an apprehension about getting back into action, but she understood her limits. She wasn't going to be able to do everything immediately, but had to pace herself.
"I remember the first day of practice when the coaches said to get ready for sprints. I said, 'Yes! I get to do something besides bending my knee,' which was really weird because I'm not known to like to run," Atuaia said.
Two weeks into fall practice, it was determined she needed arthroscopic surgery on the left knee to clean out scar tissue. That resulted in another week and a half of down time. But, when the season opened, the Kahuku graduate was back at her familiar position.
The other missed start came in the WAC opener against Texas-El Paso after Atuaia had battled the stomach flu over the Christmas break. Not starting did not mean not playing. Atuaia came off the bench to log 30 minutes and score 15 points, pull down four rebounds, steal the ball twice, and hand out five assists.
There was a time, especially during her freshman season, when the UH coaches would assign Atuaia to guard the opponent's leading backcourt scorer, but that changed.
"If we put April on someone who isn't the biggest threat to score, then that opens her up to rebound more," Wahine coach Vince Goo said. "Rebounding and defense is all about competitive spirit. You can have the best technique, but you have to have determination."
The 5-foot-10 Atuaia has no fear in mixing it up with much taller opponents under the boards when there is a loose ball to collect. She had 11 rebounds against Gonzaga this year and a career-high 16 against Boise State in the WAC opener a year ago.
She also is a tri-captain this year and will be the only senior on next year's team.
"We've had great leaders in the past and I'm just trying to follow in their footsteps," Atuaia said. "I've always been verbal, but I just want to be an example to the younger players. I know what Vince wants and I just try to instill in myself to prepare the way he wants. Hopefully it's good and rubs off on the younger players."
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Notes: The Wahine lead the series 31-5. ... In the last meeting, UH defeated SJSU 66-57 at San Jose, Feb. 2, 2002. ... The Wahine have held opponents under 50 percent shooting from the floor in 44 consecutive games. ... UH is second in the country in fewest fouls committed per game (11.8). ... SJSU's Cricket Williams needs 19 points to reach 1,000 in her career. ... The 31 losses to UH is the most by any women's opponent in Spartan history. Probable starters
Hawaii (8-5, 2-2)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Michelle Gabriel (Sr.) 5-6 5.8 2.4 2.5 G April Atuaia (Jr.) 5-10 9.8 4.9 2.6 F Natasja Allen (Sr.) 6-2 10.4 6.7 1.0 F Jade Abele (Soph.) 5-11 12.3 3.5 4.2 C Christen Roper (Sr.) 6-5 11.4 8.5 0.7
SAN JOSE STATE (6-7, 2-2)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Cricket Williams (Jr.) 5-7 19.8 4.0 5.8 G Jessica Kellogg (Jr.) 5-7 11.4 2.6 1.8 F Tenecia Macon (Fr.) 6-1 1.8 2.1 0.3 F Tatiana Taylor (Jr.) 6-0 12.3 8.2 0.9 C Teoma Taylor (Jr.) 6-0 7.6 5.5 0.4
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