Wahine know it's The Pits when they play New Mexico

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	Wahine on TV 4 p.m. today, KFVE

The hallowed final-four ground of the Women's National Invitation Tournament is filled with potential pitfalls, not the least of which is The Pit, where they play New Mexico at 4 p.m. (HST).

But over the past four months, and particularly the past three games, Hawai'i has spit in the face of basketball danger and answered every challenge with the same bring-it-on mentality.

Guard Janka Gabrielova, one of the clutch players in the Wahine's postseason run, wrestled for the ball on Wednesday with Oklahoma State's Kara Faulk. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

"They are amazing, huh?," coach Vince Goo said after his team again gave itself second-half CPR to win Wednesday's quarterfinal. "You don't see the nerves on offense. Everybody wants the ball. Nobody is afraid to get it and want to take a shot.

"It's not supposed to be like that because you've got freshmen out there, and just a couple seniors. But they all feel comfortable with one another. I don't think any of them are afraid of failing because if they miss a shot, or fail in some way, they're still going to be supported by their teammates. I think that's the big key."

The Lobos (21-7) are the only team who have been able to put it into cruise control in the exceptionally competitive WNIT. They have won their three games — in their third consecutive WNIT — by an average of 72-55, burying opponents with full-court pressure.

New Mexico is playing its best basketball of the season, with sophomore center Jordan Adams returning to all-conference form and defensive specialist Chelsea Grear enhancing her postseason game with sudden-impact offense.

But as comfortable as New Mexico feels now — at home, in such a great rhythm, against a team they have all but owned in the past — it still has to wonder what the Wahine have left.

Can Dainora Puida and Janka Gabrielova continue their postseason tear? Can Christen Roper swat enough Lobo shots to disrupt their offense? Can Hawai'i keep finding the magic every moment it absolutely needs it, from every player on its roster?

Who would doubt them after the last few weeks?

Every time the Wahine (26-7) look like they are about to go down for good — a heart-breaking defeat in the WAC championship, the loss of their senior captain, seemingly insurmountable deficits the last two games — they persevere with a game so simple and unimposing they can play it in their sleep.

Every Hawai'i player will tell you they feel no pressure now. Tonight's crowd, expected to be between 8,000-9,000, might decibel them to death, but they don't defend with their ears.

"One time Coach said, 'A good team plays good on its home court, but very good teams play good on the road too,' " Puida recalled. "We are trying to prove to everyone that we are more than a good team."

Until they played host to the program's first postseason games, the Wahine had actually played better on the road than at home. They are in a frequent-flier league of their own, but they travel remarkably well, and find no distractions on the road.

Trying to distract this team might be impossible. Goo admits, in an awed tone, that the Wahine "have not had a bad practice all year." He has never seen anything like it.

His most compelling fear tonight at The Pit is not the crowd, but the 5,200-foot elevation, and the dreaded red-eye flight his team endured Thursday. The Wahine got into Albuquerque at 10 yesterday morning and most slept until 5 p.m. practice.

"We took the red-eye last year and it was disastrous," Goo said. "This is the first one we've had to take this year. It's like losing two nights of sleep.

"That flight just makes the altitude problem more complex. It is the one thing we can't control."

It is all that is complex for the Wahine, who have kept it simple and successful. The focus tonight, again, is "concentrate on offense and play defense with intensity." Nothing more, nothing less, no excuses, no regrets.

On that, and nearly everything else, the Wahine are in agreement.

"More any other year I've played, this is a team-oriented group," said senior Crystal Lee, the only all-conference player UH has left. "We have no specific standouts, no players who exceed the others greatly. We depend on each other and count on each other to step up because we don't have a Ray (Howard) or a Nani (Cockett)."

Clearly, whatever it is that they have, it is special.