Wallace helps
Sottos’ earnings

RENO, Nev. » As long as he sticks to Riley Wallace's rule, Hawaii guard Jake Sottos will return from the Western Athletic Conference tournament with a full wallet.

Wallace, the Rainbow Warriors coach, likes to play a few hands of blackjack once in a while, and UH is staying at a casino hotel in nearby Sparks. But Wallace and his players who are old enough to gamble got it out of their system Sunday.

"The first night I let them go until 11:30, then we shut it down and they concentrated on basketball," Wallace said. "So did I."

Sottos should thank Wallace. The senior guard was up $400 when the clock ran out for wagering.

Sottos' game of choice?

"Craps, of course," he said after yesterday's practice in preparation for today's quarterfinal game against Texas-El Paso. "I'm a shooter."

Sottos rolled sevens in UH's 71-70 loss at El Paso on Jan. 20. He made all seven of his shots from the floor, including six from 3-point range. He scored 15 points in Hawaii's 71-67 loss to the Miners on Feb. 21 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A non-starter at the beginning of the season, Sottos emerged as UH's best outside threat this year and leads the team in WAC scoring with 13.4 points per game in conference contests. He's hoping to pull out of a recent slump, though. Going into today, Sottos had made just 11 of 45 shots from the field in his last four games.

Abele to assist: Hawaii forward Jade Abele's eligibility is expired, but she will remain a part of the Rainbow Wahine program next season.

"She'll be a student assistant while she completes her degree," UH coach Jim Bolla said. "That's why we had her sit by us, so she could get an idea of what we're doing."

Abele was on the bench in street clothes during UH's 65-61 first-round loss to Nevada because of a knee injury.

The Wahine were scheduled to return to Honolulu last night, and Bolla said a surgeon will look at Abele's knee to determine how much ligament damage there is and the next course of action.

Bolla also said the team banquet is tentatively scheduled for April 17.

Lane plays on, Nakashima done: Fresno State forward Aritta Lane, a senior who is an alumna of Aiea High School, scored eight points and collected four rebounds in 23 minutes as the Bulldogs beat Southern Methodist 71-53 in a women's quarterfinal game.

Roosevelt graduate Jodi Nakashima, a Boise State senior guard, scored three points and got three rebounds in 13 minutes as Louisiana Tech eliminated the Broncos 81-68.