[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
Hawaii looks to extend
string against Broncos
Opposing coaches in the same conference don't often seek each other's advice. Not the case with Boise State's Jen Warden.
After the Rainbow Wahine defeated the Broncos for the fourth consecutive time three weeks ago, the second-year head coach wanted to know what Hawaii coach Vince Goo saw in the game that she didn't.
It's a good thing the retiring Goo didn't divulge any of his secrets at the time. Goo had a sneaking suspicion that Hawaii might see Boise State again in the postseason.
He was right, as eighth-seeded Hawaii plays ninth-seeded Boise State tomorrow in a WAC tournament play-in game. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. at the Fresno State Save Mart Center.
The winner draws top-seeded Louisiana Tech on Wednesday. The sixth-ranked Lady Techsters clinched their third consecutive regular-season title last Thursday when they beat Rice.
"If she has any questions after Tuesday, I'll gladly sit and chat with her," Goo said with a chuckle.
"She's a young, up-and-coming coach and she wants to learn. She's not a coach where she's afraid or hesitant to ask questions from a rival coach.
"When you have a young coach with that kind of attitude, you're more than willing to give them some of your ideas and what you think. I'm sure we can do that after Tuesday. I didn't want to be telling her what we do against her (before) because we might be matching up with them again."
Whatever Goo knows, it must be good. The Broncos under Warden have lost by an average of 17 points to the Wahine. Hawaii (8-19) snapped a five-game losing streak against Boise State (8-19) the day after Goo announced his retirement.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Fresno State's Veronica Mack and Hawaii's Brittany Grice got tangled up in Saturday's game.
Boise State is coming off a loss to Texas-El Paso and has won one of its last six games. The Broncos haven't had a winning season or been to a postseason tournament since 1998.
Warden only has one senior, and the majority of her team comes back next year, including 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year Jamie Hawkins. The 6-1 sophomore led the Broncos in scoring (11.9 points per game) and rebounding (5.6 per game). Hawkins was held to six points in Honolulu, but Boise got a lift from sophomore guard Lynnette Grodin, who scored 16 points.
This will be the first time since 1999 that there will likely be no postseason for Hawaii. Even in an uncommon losing campaign, the Wahine have been consistently successful against the Broncos. It is everybody else in the WAC that has given Hawaii problems.
The Wahine dropped their last regular-season game against Fresno State on Saturday. Hawaii ran into a Bulldogs team that wouldn't be stopped.
"Our chemistry is finally coming together. When we lost to Nevada at Nevada, when we lost eight of eight and then had to play Louisiana Tech at home, that was the bottom for us," said Bulldogs coach Stacy Johnson-Klein.
"The girls hit a point where they just refused to lose. They weren't going to lose anymore. Since then, we've only lost to Rice. It's a pretty good turnaround."
It's too late for a Hawaii turnaround, but the Wahine would like to vanquish the lingering bad taste of Saturday's loss with a decent showing in the WAC tournament. The Rainbow Wahine arrived in Fresno late last night.
"It was not a very good game (Saturday night). It looked more like arena football," said Goo of the bruising battle in which 42 personal fouls were called. "It'll be an incentive to get (the Boise) game so that we can match up with Louisiana Tech.
"The feeling is if our season ends, whenever our season ends, you want it to end against someone really good. If that's the case against Louisiana Tech, fine. We're going to give them a good run for our money."
And though the season is likely nearing its finish, Hawaii still has something to prove.
"We have a good chance of showing other teams that we're not the same team we were at the beginning of the WAC," said senior April Atuaia. "We have a good chance and the girls are really stepping up now. They're looking at each game now as having a chance to win. Hopefully we can meet La. Tech."
Note: KKEA 1420 will broadcast the game live starting at 9:45 a.m.
