Lane bounces back
for Bulldogs
After her worst game of the season against Hawaii on Saturday cost her a starting assignment, Fresno State junior Aritta Lane (Aiea '01) quickly won it back on Monday in an 81-39 victory over San Jose State.
"Aritta was terrifying out there," teammate Chanie Sutherland told Fresno Bee reporter Jeff Davis.
She scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds against San Jose State, which had won eight in a row.
Lane entered the game at the 13:14 mark, and Fresno State went on a 10-2 tear.
"Individually, we prepared ourselves well in the time we had, and took it upon ourselves to get the job done," Lane said.
Lane, Fresno State's leading scorer, had not scored in double figures in the previous four games (she had six points on 2-for-8 shooting and zero rebounds against Hawaii).
Kane provides spark: Rachel Kane, Hawaii's high school girls basketball Player of the Year last spring, has been taken out of the starting lineup at Gonzaga University.
But that does not mean she is floundering.
"We needed a spark off the bench," coach Kelly Graves said. "I went with a gut feeling that she would give us that -- and we have won five of our last six."
Gonzaga is 7-6 and starts West Coast Conference play tomorrow against Pepperdine.
"I told Rachel: 'Don't worry about who's starting. It's finishing that counts,' " Graves said.
"She hit two huge shots in the last 10 minutes at Portland State," where Gonzaga won 69-60.
"She has exceeded our expectations. She is becoming quite a good defender -- our best guard defender and our second-best defender overall. We put her on the other team's best guard.
"She is tough and focused, and that's what you need for a defensive stopper."
Kane has averaged 3.9 assists and 5.5 points per game. Her 28 minutes per game are third most on the team, though she has not started since Dec. 6.
She had nine assists, her collegiate career high, in a 76-40 romp over Division II Seattle University on Dec. 29.
Ayers contributing: Christie Ayers (Pearl City '03) is averaging nearly six points per game off the bench for Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
"She could start for any junior college," says coach Madonna Thompson, "but it so happens that our best player is our point guard so Christie is her back-up.
"She listens well and is improving day after day. Christie is an A student, very, very focused on what she wants to do and is very mature for her age. She has never whined a bit about being homesick. All the kids love being around her."
Ayers was first-team all-state in soccer at Pearl City and Oahu Interscholastic Association West Player of the Year in basketball. For now, she is concentrating on basketball in junior college.
Meanwhile, Christie's older brother, Terry Ayers (Pearl City '01), is getting a few minutes playing time at Washington State. He is a sophomore.
New kid on the block: Freshman Fatai Hala'api'api (Lahainaluna '03) is already making a name for herself as a shot blocker at Eastern Kentucky.
Hala'api'api blocked a collegiate career-high five shots Dec. 29 in a 70-57 loss to Bowling Green.
She is averaging just 12 minutes per game, but already has blocked 18 shots in 11 games. The second-most proficient shot-blocker for Eastern Kentucky has five.
Hala'api'api also had a 14-rebound game.
Umeda gets PT: Freshman Elyse Umeda (Punahou '03 of St. Louis Heights) is playing an average of 13.5 minutes per game for Princeton.
Although her other numbers, like 1.5 points per game, are modest, Umeda says, "I'm learning a lot up here with this new Princeton offense ... my coaches are awesome ... my teammates are awesome ... not to say that I don't miss home, too!"
Swimming
Stanford freshman Hongzhe Sun (Iolani '03 of Ewa Beach) swam on the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:32.41) and finished second by 3/100ths of a second in the 1,000 freestyle in 9:31.91 on Monday in a dual meet against Cal State Bakersfield.
Wrestling
Cornell junior Travis Lee (Saint Louis '01 of Liliha) dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the IntermatWrestle.com 0133-pound rankings after his 42-match win streak was broken Dec. 29. But Lee leads the nation's 133-pounders in winning percentage at 94.4 with his 17-1 record.For the past two seasons, Lee is 51-1 with an NCAA 125-pound championship.
Iowa State sophomore Grant Nakamura (Baldwin '01) dropped from No. 6 to No. 13 in the 125-pound rankings after losing twice at the Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern.
The rankings were announced yesterday.
The Hawaii Grown Report also is published every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin and is available online at www.hhsaa.org and www.sportshigh.com.
