Post players delivering for Wahine
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
A month ago, University of Hawai'i Wahine basketball was too new to have any expectations, let alone great ones. Now its only losses are to Top-10 teams and even those ticked the Wahine off. Another loss in 2001 would put them in a major funk.
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It didn't take long for this team to develop an attitude, and a Top-20 power rating.
Wahine post players Natasja Allen, left, and Christen Roper team up to deny Wyoming's Trisha Skibbe a clear shot at the basket during Hawai'i's 69-61 win over the Cowgirls last month.
The Wahine are 5-2 going into the 10th annual Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic. They play Charlotte (5-3) tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center, following a 6 p.m. game between Cleveland State (3-3) and Tennessee State (1-5). The winners close their preseason at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and the losers at 6.
Hawai'i peaked at No. 14 in the CollegeRPI.com ratings last week and no Ala Moana visitor is in double digits. UH coach Vince Goo sees this as a must-win week, with a WAC sweep for a chaser at Boise State (Dec. 28) and UTEP (Dec. 30).
It is an attitude that would have been unthinkable a month ago.
"I had no expectations," UH center Christen Roper said. "I just knew we were young and we'd lost a lot of scoring. I knew there would be kinks to work out. But there haven't been that many."
The toughest transition might be mind-set. Over the past decade, the Wahine have been a wing-oriented offensive team, relying on small forwards such as Kaui Wakita, Tania Brunton, Nani Cockett, Raylene Howard and Crystal Lee to create and instigate.
Now, Hawai'i has gone postal, in the nicest sense of the phrase. Junior post players Natasja Allen and Roper are responsible for nearly 40 percent of its points and rebounds.
"Natasja has surprised me a lot," senior point guard Janka Gabrielova said. "She's playing very well. But everybody is just much better. Christen and Natasja have been here a long time. It's just their time."
• WHAT: Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic. • WHEN: Tomorrow-Tuesday. • WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center. • SCHEDULE: Monday: Cleveland State vs. Tennessee State, 6 p.m.; North Carolina-Charlotte vs. Hawai'i, 8 p.m. Tuesday: Consolation, 6 p.m.; Championship, 8 p.m. • TICKETS: $7 for adults, $6 for seniors (65 and older) and $4 for children (4-17) and UH students. Tickets may be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office (8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday, except holidays). • Parking: $3.
The Wahine are down one post player, but should gain another this week. Freshman Jade Abele will miss this tournament and next week's trip, at least, with a stress fracture in her right foot. Volleyball All-American Kim Willoughby could ease the loss when she sees her first action, probably tomorrow.
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UH women's basketball
"Jade has been giving us good minutes," Goo said. "If Kim can come in and do what we expect, we might be OK. We're still young though. Young, and it's early."
Too early to take the Wahine's imposing power rating for real, according to Goo. But his most compelling reason for optimism is his players' anger after their losses.
They scored 21 straight to come back on then-No. 7 Stanford, only to lose by 11. "We knew before the game we could play against bigger programs," Roper said. "That was just affirmed during and after."
In their last tournament, the Wahine fell to now-ninth-ranked Baylor by five.
"After the Stanford game we knew we could play with a Top-10 team," Goo said. "The players were disappointed they lost by 11; it should been five or seven.
"The disappointment after Baylor was different. It was not 'could have' won but 'should have' won. There's a lot of optimism among the players. It's not like they play a Top-10 team and are glad to stay close."
He's not the only one to notice. Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson came up to Goo the day after their game and told him point blank: "You can beat them."
Goo figured she meant Illinois-Chicago, Hawai'i's next opponent. But Mulkey was talking about her old team — 11th-ranked Louisiana Tech, newest WAC member and overwhelming conference favorite.
That's another month away — the Lady Techsters are here Jan. 13 — but the Wahine have played well enough so far, they can at least begin to believe her.
QUICK SETS: Kids eighth grade and younger can sign up for the Wahine Basketball Junior Fan Club an hour before this week's games. Membership includes free admission to all home games. ... Louisiana Tech ended a three-game losing streak last week. That ties the longest losing streak in the program's 28-year history, covering 901 games. It was only the third time the Lady Techsters have lost three in a row. ... LaTech's losses came against top-ranked Connecticut, second-ranked Tennessee and eighth-ranked Duke.
