Bolla’s first season
was a first step

The Rainbow Wahine basketball
coach says the level of expectation
has been established

RENO, Nev. » Jim Bolla knows the taste well. It soured his tongue (albeit rarely) at Pitt, where he played center for a top-10 team. Then 120 more times in his 14 years as the UNLV women's coach. Now, another 15 as Bolla completed his first season as Hawaii women's coach after a nine-year break from coaching.

It's the taste of losing. And it's one that he hopes his Rainbow Wahine learned to hate as UH went through an up-and-down 11-15 campaign that ended with a 65-61 loss to Nevada on Tuesday in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

"They now have a taste of what it's like when you don't get it done," Bolla said. "They don't like the taste, and I told them remember this feeling because you don't want it again."

Bolla, who replaced 17-year UH coach and former rival Vince Goo, said that going into the season he expected the rebuilding Wahine to win between 12 and 16 games.

"We had a couple of opportunities to do that. We had close losses at Rice, at home against San Jose State, a couple of other games," Bolla said.

It was far from a lost season, as the Wahine notched wins against Cal, Wake Forest and rival Brigham Young in nonconference tournaments.

A 79-78 overtime win against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 15 highlighted the 7-11 conference season.

"The way people were acting, you'd think we won the NBA championship," Bolla said. "I told them, 'That's what we're supposed to do.' "

On Tuesday, not even a lucky penny from his 3-year-old daughter, Sasha, could cure what ailed UH against the Wolf Pack. That would be inexperience. With senior forward Jade Abele out of the lineup with a knee sprain, the Wahine started three sophomores and a junior.

"We've got Band-Aids, tape, construction paper, with some of the things we're trying to do," Bolla said. "We knew what we were up against with Jade out, we knew what we had going in and could've very easily folded with one senior on the floor."

The Wahine lose their physical and spiritual leaders in Abele and guard Milia Macfarlane, but guard/forward Amy Sanders appears prepared to step into both roles.

Already a prolific scorer, Sanders continually improves other aspects of her game. The All-WAC second-teamer grabbed 12 rebounds Tuesday.

The other returning starters are center Brittany Grice and guard Janevia Taylor, who will both be juniors. If forward/center Alofa Toiaivao, another junior, improves at staying out of foul trouble, she will likely start.

The fifth spot is up for grabs for eight returnees or a new recruit. It could be a point guard or a wing player, depending on the role Taylor fills.

Whatever happens, Bolla promises improvement from a team that lost five of its last six games.

"They now know what we expect. For people who don't know me, this is not what we do," Bolla said. "We're going to go out and get some players who can help these young ladies. We've had a lot of real positives this year. We beat LaTech. We're going to get better. This is just the first step. These kids now understand."