SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Fresno State's Aritta Lane, left, and Brandy Richardson of UCSB are two members of the 2001 All-State team.

The leading ladies
of the Class of 2001

Aritta Lane and Brandy Richardson
continue to play well on
the collegiate level

The two leading ladies of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association basketball class of 2001 -- perhaps Hawaii's most talented class of female players ever -- both had career nights last Thursday.

Fresno State senior Aritta Lane (Aiea '01) scored a career-high 31 points against Western Athletic Conference champion Louisiana Tech and UC Santa Barbara senior Brandy Richardson (Kalaheo '01) equaled her career high of 17 rebounds against West Coast Conference co-leader Idaho.

Both statistical highs were achieved on the road but, unfortunately for the two players -- the Star-Bulletin's co-players of the year in 2001 -- both were recorded in losses.

Fresno State lost at Louisiana Tech 86-76 in what Lane called "a great game."

"We were up by as much as 11, but they have some good players -- they are all athletic," said Lane.

"It would have been a great win."

Lane made 12 of 24 field-goal attempts "from everywhere, but predominantly in the post area with plays we run -- high-low, step out, post-wing," she said. "We have great chemistry in that offense."

"I thought they kicked our tail in the paint," Louisiana Tech coach Kurt Budke said.

Lane, who is 5-10 1/2, plays both 4 (power forward) and 5 (post) for the Bulldogs.

She is Fresno State's second-leading scorer and rebounder at 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and is second in the WAC in field-goal shooting percentage at .550 (99-for-180).

Richardson preceded her 17-rebound monster game with a 13-rebound effort against UC Riverside and has six double-digit board cleanings this season. Her career rebound total of 803 is five short of seventh place all-time at UCSB.

Richardson's average of 8.2 per game this season is sixth in the Big West.

She was the Big West Defensive Player of the Year last season on a team that reached the NCAA Division I sweet 16.

The 2001 all-state team also included Milia Macfarlane (Punahou), who is the starting point guard for Hawaii, and Monica Tokoro (Iolani), who was a Division II All-American and set scoring records at Cal State Los Angeles before she decided to retire from the game just before the start of her senior season.

Macfarlane's career with the Wahine was profiled in Saturday's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Nicole Garbin (Baldwin), the fifth member of the 2001 all-state first team, set soccer records at Oregon in between knee injuries .

The second team was good, too.

Kylee Nakamura (Aiea) switched to recreational surfing after playing one season at Division I Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California; Jodi Nakashima (Roosevelt) led the WAC in 3-point shooting percentage last season at Boise State; and Keesha Aldridge (Aiea) set career blocking records in volleyball at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Among the third-teamers and honorable mentions, Trisha Nishimoto (Iolani '02) is a letterwinner at Hawaii; Megan Ching (Kamehameha '03 of Kaimuki) started 15 of the first 16 games this season at point guard for Cal State Northridge; Becky Hogue (Punahou '03) is en route to Columbia (N.Y.) in the Ivy League after this season at Fullerton College in California, and Maricris Sierra (Nanakuli) played well but was limited by injuries at Missouri Valley.

OTHERS on the 2001 all-state team (2001 graduates unless indicated) included:

» Natasha Kai (Kahuku), who led the nation in soccer scoring in 2003 for Hawaii;

» Elizabeth Narkon (Saint Francis of Hawaii Kai), one of the nation's most prodigious Division II volleyball hitters for Western New Mexico;

» and Heather Massey (Radford '02), a letter-winning point guard at Nevada;

Fantastic frosh: Menlo (Calif.) freshman Kepua Lee (Moanalua '04) was chosen California-Pacific Conference women's basketball Player of the Week after a double-double weekend. She had 19 points and 13 rebounds in Menlo's 75-51 victory over rival Notre Dame de Namur on Friday and came back the following night with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 62-56 overtime win over Simpson (Calif.).

She leads Menlo in scoring with 13.0 points per game.

Lee and starting point guard Shannon Riley (Maryknoll '02 of Makiki) have helped Menlo win six of its last seven to improve to 13-7 and 9-4 in the Cal-Pac. Riley scored 12 points against Notre Dame.

Snow, Le‘i and Russell
a big hit for Brigham
Young’s softball team

In her first at-bat for the Brigham Young softball team, Snow, an all-state outfielder for Kamehameha last season, hit a home run Friday.

Her two new teammates from Hawaii, juniors 'Neta Le'i (Iolani '02 of Mililani) and Ashlyn Russell (Baldwin '02 of Wailuku), were not to be outdone.

They also hit home runs in their first at-bats of the season.

But Russell, a third baseman, went one better than catcher Snow and designated hitter Le'i. She hit two home runs in her first game.

Slugging BYU won all three of its games at the St. George Tournament during the weekend. The Cougars outscored Southern Utah and Utah Valley State 39-9, undoubtedly resulting in some echoes at The Canyons field in St. George.

Snow said she was so happy and excited when the second pitch to her cleared the right-center-field fence that, "I would have done cartwheels around the bases if coach would let me!"

BYU coach Gordon Eakin said Le'i didn't play Friday because she hurt her foot, but "she hit a rocket about 300 feet in her first time up on Saturday."

Eakin added, "We're coming to Hawaii to recruit more."

BYU's Hawaii players will get to play against the Rainbow Wahine of Hawaii in a tournament at Las Vegas on Saturday.

Women's Soccer
Brigham Young junior Charlene Lui (Punahou '02 of Waialae Iki) was included on the 2004 Fall Semester Academic All-Mountain West Conference team last Thursday.

Lui, who is "almost 5-feet-2" has been a starting defender for BYU most of the past three seasons.

Tennis
UCLA senior Chris Lam, who was home-schooled in Palolo, won the team's Arnold Schwab Award for Academics and Leadership.

Lam is 62nd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings entering the spring season.

Men's Volleyball
Graceland (Iowa) freshman Ainoa Miyashiro (Kamehameha '04 of Kaneohe) was named Mid-America Conference men's volleyball Setter of the Week.

Miyashiro averaged 12.1 assists and 3.0 blocks in 17 games last week.

Pacific (California) senior Bryson Metz (Kamehameha '01 of Aiea) has stepped up for ailing teammate Brian Zodrow (Saint Louis '01 of Kahaluu).

Metz had a career-best 19 kills, 11 digs and seven blocks in a five-game victory over Lewis on Friday in Romeoville, Ill., and followed with 18 kills, hitting .464, in a 3-1 loss to Loyola-Chicago on Saturday.

The week before, Zodrow had 18 kills and hit .361 and Metz got 13 kills and hit .526, adding five digs, two service aces and two blocks in a sweep of then-eighth-ranked Cal State Northridge.

Men's Basketball
Senior guard Casey Kushiyama (University '00 of Diamond Head) scored 19 points on Friday to help Linfield (Oregon) beat Pacific 87-73.

Pacific's second-leading scorer is junior guard and co-captain Branden Kawazoe of Hilo with 9.6 points per game, including 16 Friday in a victory over Pacific Lutheran that was coach Ken Schumann's 150th win in 13 seasons at Pacific.

Kawazoe was Big Island Player of the Year for Waiakea in 2002.

In 15 starts this season, he has averaged 24.5 minutes per game and made 73.2 percent of his free throws.

Men's Wrestling
Pacific (Oregon) sophomore Aaron Fernandez (Kamehameha '03 of Lanai City) got to start for the first time last week because of a teammate's injury and dominated two 125-pound opponents, 16-1 and 9-1.

Fernandez has an 18-13 overall record between 125 and 133, including a fourth-place finish at the widely attended Clackamas Open.