Wahine face two tough road tests
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Last time out, the University of Hawai'i Wahine lost to the Western Athletic Conference's best basketball team. Now they play the next-best on the road.
The Wahine (10-3, 3-1 conference) will try to get their first victory in Houston today at Rice (10-4, 4-1). They close their second trip in Tulsa (10-5, 5-0) Saturday.
Both games will be broadcast live on 1420 AM, beginning at 2:45 p.m. today and 9:45 a.m. Saturday.
A Hawai'i sweep would give coach Vince Goo a chance for his 300th victory next week at home. He is more intent on closing the gap between his team and 10th-ranked Louisiana Tech, in the WAC standings and his players' minds.
"The three ranked teams we've played come out with so much confidence that they know they're going to win," says Wahine junior Michelle Gabriel. "We have that same confidence level when we come out against lower teams. If we came out with that confidence level against the ranked teams, we could have probably beat them."
UH's losses have come against fourth-ranked Stanford, 11th-ranked Baylor and Tech, Sunday by 12 points.
That loss — the Wahine's first in seven games — launched them to their most flattering showing of the season, 32nd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25. It also dropped them to No. 40 in the power rankings, and lifted the Techsters to 32nd.
For Louisiana Tech, that is relatively low. The perennial Top-10 program pounded its first four WAC opponents by an average of 30 points. It pummeled the Wahine down low, getting 6-foot-5 center Christen Roper in foul trouble early and exploiting UH inside.
The Wahine learned what they lack against Louisiana Tech, and Goo got a look at where his recruiting must go.
"We'll have to be quicker;" Goo said. "This year's team is quicker than last year's, but it's still not quick enough to beat Louisiana Tech."
Apparently no one else in the WAC is either, but Rice might come closest. The Owls have won their last four, upset defending national champion Notre Dame in the preseason, and have never lost to Hawai'i on Autry Court. They have four starters back, feature five seniors, and are so balanced only Kara Liggett is scoring more than 10 a game.
Rice's only conference loss came at Tulsa in overtime. The Golden Hurricane have won a school-record six straight and are getting more than 12 points a game from seniors Leela Farr and Carla Morrow, and transfer Alyssa Shriver, who scored 10 consecutive baskets against UTEP to earn WAC Player of the Week honors.
The Owls are improved from last year, and Tulsa is vastly improved. This could be the Wahine's toughest and most meaningful trip of the season — aside from their next trip to Tulsa for the WAC Tournament.
Hawai'i has two things in its favor. It is healthier than it has been all season, with reserves Jade Abele and Kim Willoughby now able to complete a four-player post rotation. And, the Wahine are a loss older and wiser thanks to Louisiana Tech.
"We proved we can compete with top-ranked teams," forward Natasja Allen said. "We do have something. We just need to get over the final hump. We need to execute."
Adds Gabriel: "We know that's not the best we've done. We're ready for one game where everybody is on. We haven't had one like that yet and that's scary."
OVER AND BACK: The Wahine's postponed game at UTEP has been rescheduled for Feb. 4. ... Hawai'i is ninth nationally in rebounding margin (plus 7.5), but has been out-rebounded in all three losses. ... Christen Roper has 46 blocks. Her 3.5 game average leads the WAC and is fourth in the nation. ... The Wahine are fifth nationally in shooting percentage defense (33.9) and 31st in scoring defense (58.9 points). ... Since moving to the WAC in 1996-97, Hawai'i is 27-11 in regular-season road games. ... The Wahine are second in WAC attendance. Louisiana Tech is averaging 3,100 a game, followed by UH (1,503) and Tulsa (942). No other WAC team is drawing more than 880. ... Hawai'i is second to the Techsters in six WAC team statistics.
