[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
Wahine give Goo
another victoryHawaii breaks losing streak
after its coach announces this
will be his last season
It was a night like any other. Just another basketball game, the 494th for Vince Goo as the Hawaii women's head coach.
Pregame ritual? Two cups of coffee -- black, no sugar -- to keep him from falling asleep before halftime. Or at least that's what Goo, ever the jokester, said.
Then there were the normal pleasantries exchanged with the visiting coach prior to tip-off. Last night, it was Boise State's Jen Warden who got a hug and shared a laugh with Goo at the Stan Sheriff Center.
A day after Goo announced he would retire after this, his 17th season with the Rainbow Wahine, the coach wasn't counting how many regular-season games remained for him. The only number that mattered was "1" -- the team's winning streak after defeating Boise State 64-49 last night.
A crowd of 557 (1,304 tickets) saw Hawaii have three players in double figures, led by Pam Tambini's 13. The Wahine also got 11 from Jade Abele and 10 from Janevia Taylor in snapping a five-game losing streak and improving to 6-16 overall, 4-9 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Broncos, now 0-6 against the Wahine, got 16 points from sophomore guard Lynnette Grondin in falling to 7-16 and 4-10.
"I think we all know there was extra incentive with Vince saying he's retiring," said Abele, who hit three of UH's four 3-pointers. "I don't want to say we're doing it for him, but it's definitely an incentive. We're definitely putting our own best in for him. And we want to get some wins going into the WAC tournament. We've got three home games left and hopefully we can pick up some wins.
"Tonight, we were really playing good defense, scoring off fast breaks, getting the steals (11), things we haven't been doing. The last time we played them, they only scored 45. We know what would work well against them. There was a little lapse (at the beginning), wasn't there? We'll just pretend that didn't happen and take the win."
The caffeine didn't kick in for either team until there was 16:45 left in the first half. Trisha Nishimoto's 3-pointer broke a scoreless tie, sparking Hawaii to a 9-0 run. By the time the Wahine's lead was 16-2, Boise State had as many turnovers -- seven -- as missed shots.
"I wasn't sure how their team would react (with the retirement news)," said Warden. "I'd say we found out when it was 16-2."
Just as they had when facing the Broncos in Boise earlier this season, the Wahine enjoyed an early double-digit lead. Just as they had in that Jan. 24 contest, the Wahine had to fend off a second-half charge by the Broncos.
The Wahine led by as many as 19 -- 28-9 with 4:06 remaining before halftime. The Broncos closed out the half with an 11-2 run to close to 30-20 at intermission.
A 3-pointer by Grondin some 15 seconds into the half pulled Boise State to within 30-23. The Broncos stayed close, with a basket by Jamie Hawkins bringing her team again to within seven at 34-27.
That would be as close as the visitors would come. Two consecutive 3-pointers by Abele jump-started a Hawaii run, capped by a four-point play by Amy Sanders.
"I don't know what I'm thinking about, but it is nice to pick up a win," said Goo. "I thought our kids played pretty well tonight for maybe 35 minutes. For a young team like this, that is pretty good.
"Our kids need to keep the focus and go out and play, not do it for anyone in particular. What I've told them, starting from last month, was to remember the lumps their taking now. Not for next week, remember it for next season, and the season after that. What their learning now will go a long way."
Goo used all 13 of his players, including lone senior April Atuaia. The guard had been suspended for a week, missing three games, all losses. Atuaia played four minutes and "will be used more as she gets back into game shape," said Goo.
Next up for Hawaii will be tomorrow's game against UTEP. The Miners (14-9, 9-5) defeated host San Jose State last night 51-44.
WAC women's standings
Yesterday's games
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Louisiana Tech 12 1 .923 19 2 .905 Rice 12 1 .923 15 7 .682 UTEP 9 5 .643 14 9 .609 SMU 8 5 .615 12 10 .545 Tulsa 7 6 .538 14 9 .609 San Jose St. 5 8 .385 13 9 .591 Hawaii 4 9 .308 6 16 .273 Fresno St. 4 10 .286 10 14 .417 Boise St. 4 10 .286 7 16 .304 Nevada 2 12 .143 3 21 .125
Hawaii 64, Boise St. 49
Rice 61, Nevada 54
UTEP 51, San Jose St. 44
Fresno St. 85, Tulsa 76
Tomorrow's games (All times Hawaii time)
Rice at Fresno State, noon
Louisiana Tech at SMU, 10 a.m.
Tulsa at Nevada, noon
Boise State at San Jose State, 5 p.m.
UTEP at Hawaii, 7:05 p.m.
Hawaii 64, Boise St. 49
Broncos (7-16, 4-10 WAC)
WAHINE (6-16, 4-9 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Grondin 6 18 1 2 36 2 2 16 Begay 2 5 0 0 20 2 2 5 Ramirez 0 4 2 2 28 4 1 2 Welch 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 3 Hill 1 2 0 0 16 3 1 2 Martin 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 Blaine 0 2 0 0 11 0 1 0 Nakashima 0 2 2 2 20 1 0 2 Hawkins 3 5 0 0 23 6 1 6 Little 2 5 0 1 22 7 2 4 Hessing 4 5 1 2 18 2 1 9 TEAM 4 Totals 19 49 7 10 200 32 11 49
Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Taylor 5 17 0 0 30 3 3 10 Abele 4 8 0 0 27 5 5 11 Nishimoto 3 8 0 0 24 2 1 8 Sanders 2 6 1 1 31 6 3 6 Solia 1 2 0 0 9 1 1 2 Crouch 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Macfarlane 1 2 0 0 10 1 0 2 Atuaia 0 1 0 0 4 2 0 0 Spooner 2 2 0 0 12 2 0 4 Tambini 6 10 1 1 21 3 2 13 Aiwohi 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 Lee 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Grice 2 3 4 4 24 4 3 8 TEAM 3 Totals 26 60 6 6 200 32 18 64
Halftime--Hawaii 30, Boise St. 20.
3-point goals--BSU 4-13 (Grondin 3-6, Begay 1-3, Blaine 0-1, Nakashima 0-1, Ramirez 0-2), Hawaii 6-22 (Abele 3-4, Nishimoto 2-6, Sanders 1-2, Solia 0-1, Macfarlane 0-1, Atuaia 0-1, Tambini 0-2, Taylor 0-5). Personal fouls--BSU 14, Hawaii 13.
Steals--BSU 7 (Grondin 3, Little 2, Hawkins, Hessing); Hawaii 11 (Taylor 4, Abele 2, Tambini 2, Lee, Grice, Sanders). Blocked shots--BSU 2 (Little 2); Hawaii 1 (Grice); Turnovers--BSU 24 (Hawkins 6, Little 4, Hessing 3, Hill 3, Grondin 2, Begay 2, Ramirez, Martin, Blaine, Nakashima); Hawaii 15 (Abele 3, Nishimoto 3, Sanders 2, Macfarlane 2, Grice, Tambini, Atuaia, Solia, Taylor). A--1,304.
