Kane has Spokane
speaking hoops
Rachel Kane of Kahaluu has not played an official college basketball game yet and already she is the talk of the coffee shops near Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.
Kane scored 13 points in her debut in Bulldog blue Monday night in an exhibition game against the Czech Republic women's national team.
The 5-foot-7 point guard so impressed spectators in the Bulldogs' "Kennel" gym that coach Kelly Graves had a hard time getting coffee on his way to campus yesterday.
"I already got four phone calls today and talked to three other people at Starbucks; she was the first one they mentioned," Graves said. "They said, 'Where did you find her? Your future looks bright!'
"Even Leon Rice, the men's assistant coach, told me, "That Hawaiian kid's a player."
Kane was chosen the Star-Bulletin's 2003 Ms. Basketball Hawaii last spring after she led Punahou to a 17-0 record and HHSAA state championship.
Less than six months later, Graves says that Kane is "competing with an All-West Coast Conference point guard (for the starting job) and playing her straight up."
"Rachel still gets herself into trouble and tries to do too much," Graves said. "She is seeing more pressure than she is used to and needs to get a little more efficient with the ball.
"But she creates a lot and she affords us so much on the perimeter ... she is on her way."
Kane came off the bench Monday. "I was tentative and nervous at first, but I got into the rhythm," she said. "I'm getting more comfortable."
And, after a notably soft-spoken high school career, Kane is even starting to speak up , Graves says.
"She makes great comments in practice," he said, "but the only person who can hear her is the gal guarding her.
"On the first day of practice, I set goals for everybody," Graves says. "I told Rachel, 'Before this year is over, you are going to be talking.'
"She's getting there."
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Hawaii still has 6 soccer players
up for Women’s College Cup
Six soccer players from Hawaii are on teams that will open play tomorrow or Friday in the Women's College Cup, the NCAA Division I championship tournament.
They are:
>> Southern Methodist freshman Adria Campbell (Punahou '03 of Kailua), who assisted on the winning goal in the final minute of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game Saturday night. The Mustangs (17-3-1) open at Texas A&M on Friday.
>> Princeton sophomore Romy Trigg-Smith (Punahou '02 of Kailua) plays almost every minute at defender for the Tigers (11-2-3), who play Villanova Friday at Penn State.
>> Brigham Young sophomore defender Charlene Lui (Punahou '02 of Waialae Iki) has started every game for the Cougars (14-6-2), who open tomorrow against 10th-ranked Colorado in Salt Lake City.
>> Idaho State freshman Jen Loo (Mililani '03) scored the winning goal in the Big Sky Conference championship game. If her Bengals (10-8-1 but winners of their last six) defeat Utah (16-2-1) tomorrow at Utah, they could play BYU and Lui on Saturday.
>> Pepperdine freshman Ashlee Doi (Mililani '02). The Waves (13-5-1) open against Southern California on Friday at UCLA.
>> Boston University junior Tiffany Taylor (Punahou '01 of Kaneohe) is taking a medical redshirt year because of a torn right ACL and meniscus and will not be on the field when BU (12-5-5) plays Connecticut in Boston on Friday.
The 64-team tournament will conclude at the championship game Dec. 7 in North Carolina. Portland is the defending champion.
Men's volleyball
Pacific (Calif.) coach Joe Wortmann says that ever since hitter Brian Zodrow (Saint Louis '01 of Kaneohe) earned a place in the starting lineup last March at Hawaii, he has been "stellar.""He hit around .350 the rest of last season, and then came back this fall much stronger," Wortmann said yesterday. "His physical and mental competence is just great."
Recently, Zodrow was named Player of the Match twice in four matches by the tournament committee at the Husky Dino Cup at University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
Zodrow had 55 kills in four matches. The UOP newspaper, the Pacifican, chose him as its male Athlete of the Week.
Zodrow, a 6-foot-3 junior, plays opposite and outside hitter.
Also on the Pacific roster are reserve middle blockers Bryson Metz (Kamehameha '01) and Adam Catania (Mililani '99).
Women's soccer
Western Oregon senior goalkeeper Moani Mundo (Castle '00) and Western Washington sophomore forward Chela Gray (Iolani '00 of Kaneohe) received honorable mention Monday on the All-Great Northwest Conference team.Last year Gray was co-Freshman of the Year. Mundo was first-team All-GNAC in 2001 and second team last year, but both teams fell below .500 this season.
Swimming
Junior Alexis Jinbo-Doran (Iolani) was named Northwest Conference women's Swimmer of the Week after she won 400 individual medley, 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle and 200 medley relay first places at two meets.
