Posted on: Saturday, February 2,2002
BASKETBALL
Wahine forced to juggle lineups with Atuaia out
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| "We're the feisty ones. And we have that spark," Kim Willoughby says of herself and the other Wahine reserves.
Advertiser library photo • Dec. 17, 2001 |
For the first time this season, University of Hawai'i coach Vince Goo will break up a starting five that has taken the Wahine to a 13-4 start. By definition, that means his five-headed monster of a second team will also lose a limb.
April Atuaia did not make this four-game conference trip, which opens today at San Jose State. The 2001 WAC Freshman of the Year remains in Hawai'i rehabilitating her injured knee, and hoping her sophomore season is not over.
Chelsea Wagner's freshman year of living anonymously is about to end, if it hasn't already. She will start for Atuaia, getting a promotion from a second team that has gone far beyond giving rest to the basketball weary.
"This is probably one of the deepest teams we've had, if not one of the more experienced," Goo says. "I don't hesitate much to put people in. Our reserves' impact has been huge. We've put them in to give somebody three minutes of rest and they stay in a little longer."
Kim Willoughby, two months removed from her All-American volleyball season, is averaging more than 16 minutes a game. When UH played SJSU here, she went off for 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Wagner, probably the Wahine's purest shooter, is averaging nearly 15 minutes. Jade Abele, out six games with a stress fracture, now splits time at post and wing to compensate for Atuaia's absence. Christa Brossman and Michelle Gabriel have been in every game.
Rarely has there been a drop-off, a point of pride from a second squad dedicated to defense. Scoring is a bonus, though it is averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds a game.
"Most important, we play good defense," says Wagner, Oregon's 2001 high school player of the year. "Look what our defense has done. We've won a lot of games when we could not shoot the ball at all."
Willoughby goes so far as to say that her goal has always been to start at defensive specialist in volleyball. She is trying to live out that dream in her "new" sport, which she hasn't played since she was Louisiana's player of the year in 1999 and 2000.
"We're the feisty ones," Willoughby says of the reserves. "And we have that spark. All we want to do is play defense. That's the thing right there."
Willoughby also brings the Wahine an element of high energy. Janka Gabrielova, their hyper-active point guard, picked up on Willoughby's fleet feet immediately.
"Janka loves that because she's got someone to go to," Wagner says. "When we all get tired, Kim will run with her."
Willoughby has the basketball bruises on her forehead to prove it.
"I know if I look ahead of me and no one is there, the ball is coming at me everytime," Willoughby says. "Whether I'm looking or not, Janka is ready to throw it to me."
Abele, Wagner and Willoughby are freshmen eligibility-wise. Brossman, a relentless worker who runs to Waikiki and back after home games, is a sophomore. Gabriel, nearly as much of a nuisance defensively as Gabrielova, is a junior.
They have been playing at such a high level Goo insists he never realized their relative youth until the last road trip. He says Willoughby and Wagner have come close to starting before, and as Abele gets healthier she is closing the gap behind Karena Greeny, who is having a career year.
But right now, all would back off a bit if it meant getting Atuaia back.
"Obviously Greeny and Janka are our seniors and lead the team," Wagner says. "But April is a huge part because she does everything on the court. She's always there, always picking everyone up. She's the heart of our team. It's a huge blow to lose that."
OVER AND BACK: Today's game at San Jose State (11-7, 6-3 WAC) begins at 3:30 p.m. HST. The radio broadcast (1420 AM) is scheduled to begin at 3:15. ... Monday's game at UTEP (3-14, 1-8) will start at 4 p.m. HST.
