Roper comes up big in UH's 65-50 victory
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Move over, Mount Rainier.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The state of Washington might boast a big mountain, but Washington State came to Hawai'i and discovered a mountain wearing No. 14.
Wahine Christen Roper scores from point-blank range. She dominated inside with 14 rebounds and 7 blocks.
Junior Christen Roper used every inch of her 6-foot-5 frame to lead the Rainbow Wahine to a 65-50 victory over the Cougars yesterday in the first round of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic.
Earlier, Portland State edged Texas A&M, 80-78, in double overtime to reach today's 1 p.m. championship game against Hawai'i.
A crowd of 617 at the Stan Sheriff Center yesterday saw Roper score 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, grab 14 rebounds and block seven shots. She also was a dominating presence in the paint, forcing the Cougars to take low-percentage shots.
Last season's record-setting blocks leader wanted to add something to her game.
"I tried to work on adding offense as well as my defense to the game," Roper said.
She led a balanced offense that saw three players score in double figures: senior point guard Janka Gabrielova added 15 points and junior forward Natasja Allen 14.
"We were fired up," said Allen. "In the first half we came out with a lot of intensity."
After Washington State's Francine McCurtain hit a 3-pointer to start the game, the Wahine went on an 11-0 run and never looked back.
The Wahine defense made seven steals, held the Cougars to 10-of-30 shooting, and forced 15 turnovers.
At the half, Hawai'i was ahead 40-22.
"We said WSU was going to come out and play a hard 20 minutes," Wahine coach Vince Goo said. "We told them if we don't play with intensity they are going to come out and make a run on us and that is exactly what they did."
Hawai'i saw its big lead slowly slip away. With 1:36 to play, the Cougars closed to 59-50, the smallest margin of the game since the first half.
"In the second half we underestimated WSU," said Allen. "They came back hard and I think we could have come out with a little more intensity."
Allen scored at 1:19 to make it 61-50 and forced the Cougars to foul, allowing the Wahine to extend their lead with four free throws by Gabrielova.
Notes: Today's UH-Portland State championship game will reunite Wahine coach Vince Goo with Vikings coach George Wolfe, his longtime assistant. "It's chicken-skin right there," said Wolfe, who was a part of the Wahine program for 13 years. "I've known Vince for a long time. We're excited, and we are just going to go out there and play as hard as we can." ... The Junior Fan Club will be holding registration one hour before today's game. Members must be eighth grade and under and will receive a free season pass for the entire season.
