National powers
in tourney fieldTexas, Arizona and Virginia
are three of the eight teams
playing this weekend
The 25th annual Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic features nationally prominent teams among the seven mainland visitors here for the only eight-team women's preseason tournament.Texas (2-0) is ranked second in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, Arizona is No. 21 and Virginia was just two spots out of the poll. All three participated in the NCAA Tournament a year ago and join Navy in one bracket.
Hawaii's bracket includes Hartford, Montana and Syracuse. The Wahine (0-2) will try for their first win of the season when they play the Hartford Hawks (2-0) in the first round tomorrow.
"Obviously, we have a lot of things to work on. I think progress will come with more game experience," UH coach Vince Goo said.
Goo will keep the two five-player squads, but is still experimenting to find the right combination for each unit. The makeup could change from game to game.
The Wahine worked on timing this week in practice, especially on offense. When a team has veterans, the players know where everyone else is on the court and act instantly. With a young team, it is different.
"We need to know where people are going to be so we can make the pass instead of reading, then making the pass. When we take the time to read, the defense has time to recover," Goo said. "Without a lot of experience, we have to be more structured."
Hartford coach Jennifer Rizzotti's Hawks have two of their top scorers back in guards Liz Stich and Erika Messam, who each averaged 9.1 points per game last season.
The Hawks beat Marist 69-65 in double overtime to start the season, then blasted St. Peter's 59-39. Freshman guard Ikea Witt came off the bench to total 30 points in the two games and earn America East Conference Rookie of the Week honors
The Syracuse Orangewomen (2-0), under first-year head coach Keith Cieplicki, hope to rebound from a 10-18 season. Four players return who played in at least 20 games last year.
Senior guard Julie McBride, who made a career-high seven 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over Massachusetts, is the top returning scorer (15.6 ppg). She is on Syracuse's all-time top 10 lists for points, assists, free throws and 3-pointers. Junior guard Rochelle Coleman (13.5 ppg) sank 70 3-pointers a year ago, the third-best single-season effort in school history.
The Montana Lady Griz (1-0), picked to win the Big Sky Conference, opened with an 85-41 win over Montana-Western. Senior forward Julie Deming led Montana with 19 points and sophomore guard Katie Edwards, who made 57 3-pointers a year ago, had 17 points.
Montana coach Robin Selvig, in his 26th season at his alma mater, will probably rotate 6-foot-3 junior centers Hollie Tyler and Crystal Baird and has returning point guard Brooklynn Lorenzen -- who had a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio last year -- back to run the offense.
Texas (3-0) defeated UCLA 89-58 Tuesday. Freshman forward Tiffany Jackson came off the bench to lead five Longhorns in double figures with 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Longhorns, with their top three scorers back, opened the season by defeating then-No. 2 Duke to climb to No. 2 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since 1987.
Jody Conradt, in her 28th season at Texas and her 35th year overall as a collegiate head coach, starts juniors Kala Bowers, Heather Schreiber and Jamie Carey, senior Stacy Stephens and sophomore Nina Norman.
Carey was the Big 12 co-Player of the Week last week.
The Navy Mids (2-1) beat Robert Morris 68-58 in their opener to give Tom Marryott a victory in his first game as head coach. A loss to Albany was followed by an 80-47 win over Morgan State on Tuesday.
Senior forward/center Adrienne Roseti and senior guard Courtney Davidson lead the team with 15.7 and 13.5 scoring averages, respectively. Point guard Maile Shimoda has recorded more than 100 assists each of the last two seasons.
The Virginia Cavaliers (1-1), picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beat North Carolina-Greensboro 71-44 in their season opener with senior Anna Prillaman scoring 17 points. However, the Cavaliers were upset 63-62 on Sunday by Virginia Tech despite junior forward Brandi Teamer's 19 points and 11 rebounds, her 19th career double-double.
Coach Debbie Ryan has all five starters back.
The Arizona Wildcats are picked to finish second in the Pac-10. Arizona returns 10 letterwinners from a 2003 squad that went 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Pac-10.
After a season-opening victory over Northern Arizona, the Wildcats lost at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara 75-65 on Tuesday. Sophomore center Shawntinice Polk paced the Wildcats with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Hawaiian Airlines
Tomorrow: Texas vs. Navy, 12:30 p.m.; Virginia vs. Arizona, 2:40 p.m.; Hawaii vs. Hartford, 4:50 p.m.; Syracuse vs. Montana, 7 p.m.
Rainbow Wahine Classic
Saturday: Hawaii vs. Montana or Syracuse, 11 a.m.; Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2, 1:10 p.m.; Hartford vs. Syracuse or Montana, 3:20 p.m.; Winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: Seventh place, 11 a.m.; Fifth place, 1:10 p.m.; Third place, 3:20 p.m.; Championship, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: UH-Hartford delayed, 7 p.m., KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: All UH games live, KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: All seats general admission. $8 adults, $7 seniors, Children age 4-18 and UH students with valid ID free.Parking: $3
Probable starters
HARTFORD (2-0) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Liz Stich (Jr.) 5-9 10.0 4.0 1.5 G Bridget Murray (Sr.) 5-5 3.0 4.0 1.5 G Erika Messam (So.) 5-8 11.0 5.0 2.0 F Jenna Gale (So.) 6-0 6.0 5.5 0.5 C Tanika Price (Jr.) 6-2 7.5 3.0 0.5 HAWAII (0-2) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Milia Macfarlane (Jr.) 5-5 5.5 1.0 0.5 F April Atuaia (Sr.) 5-10 14.5 6.5 2.0 F Jade Abele (Jr.) 6-1 5.5 5.0 2.5 F Pam Tambini (Fr.) 5-10 6.0 4.5 1.0 C Brittany Grice (Fr.) 6-4 5.0 3.5 0.0
Notes: Three teams -- Southern California, Tennessee and Connecticut -- went on to win the national championship the same season they played in the Classic. ... Ten players appearing in the Classic went on to win National Player of the Year honors. ... UH is 42-30 in the Classic, has appeared in 10 championship games, winning four, the last in 1999 when the Wahine edged Texas 78-74.
