Posted on: Thursday, December 16, 2004
UH women face first ranked foe of season
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fittingly in finals week, the Rainbow Wahine basketball team draws its toughest assignment in undefeated Houston tonight in the Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic.
Houston (8-0) is the first ranked team Hawai'i (3-2) will play this season. The Lady Cougars are No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top 25 and No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25.
"This is a huge game," Hawai'i center Brittany Grice said. "We have an opportunity to beat a ranked team. It hasn't been done for a while."
Tipoff for tonight's game is 7 at the Stan Sheriff Center. In tomorrow's game, Wake Forest (7-0) and Houston will play at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Hawai'i and Wake Forest will play at 4 p.m.
Hawai'i last defeated a ranked opponent Nov. 22, 1998, with a 51-47 win over No. 17 Kansas. Since then, Hawai'i is 0-17 against ranked opponents, but in nearly half those losses, the Rainbow Wahine were in position for an upset. In eight of those games, Hawai'i led in the second half, or trailed by four points or fewer in the final 10 minutes.
"The attitude about playing this team is not a scared one at all," Grice said. "It's the opposite. We really want to go get it."
Hawai'i has won three consecutive games, a streak that was last accomplished in the 2002-03 season.
"Our goal is to get a little better every day," Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla said. "If we're getting a little better every day, we're going to be able to win some games."
In preparation for the Lady Cougars, Hawai'i has turned to its scout team for help. During yesterday's practice, UH reserves along with team managers Wade Butler and Jesse Thorpe, and student assistant and former Rainbow Wahine player Christen Roper, masqueraded as Houston players. The scout team mimicked the Lady Cougars' tendencies, including the tenacious play of their leading scorer and rebounder Sancho Lyttle.
"Our scout team has been awesome," Hawai'i co-captain Milia Macfarlane said. "They have been the key to preparing us. They play exactly like who they are imitating. We get a little more accustomed to our opponents' style."
The Lady Cougars recorded quality wins at Purdue, 63-60, on Nov. 30 and won the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational with victories over Virginia, 67-64, and host Northwestern, 78-56, earlier this month.
Houston averages 76.4 points per game, while Hawai'i averages 63.6 points per game. The Lady Cougars also average 44 rebounds per game.
WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center
WHO: Hawai'i (3-2) vs. No. 19 Houston, 7 tonight; Houston vs. Wake Forest (7-0), 5 p.m. tomorrow; Hawai'i vs. Wake Forest, 4 p.m. Saturday. TV: Both Hawai'i games live on KFVE-TV (Ch. 5) RADIO: Both Hawai'i games live on KKEA Radio (1420AM) TICKETS: $8 (adults); $7 (senior citizens); children (ages 4-18); and UH students (with valid ID) free. PARKING: $3 The team is led by Lyttle, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, who averages 21 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. The rest of the projected starting lineup is: Joann Overstreet (5-5 senior guard, 8.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 9.3 apg), Crystal Simpson (5-11 senior guard, 7.9 ppg), Emily Fryters (6-2 junior forward, 1.6 ppg) and Kiki Harris (6-4 senior center, 10.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg).
"They're a very good team," Bolla said. "It's going to be a very good test for us. This is what we want. We want to play against good teams."
Hawai'i is projected to start 6-1 forward Jade Abele (16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), 5-5 guard Macfarlane (8.0 ppg), 5-5 guard Janevia Taylor (11.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg), 5-11 swing player Amy Sanders (7.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and 6-4 center Grice (6.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg).
Wake Forest has been beating opponents by an average of 26.9 points. The Deacons 7-0 record is the best start since the 1987-88 season when the program opened with 10 consecutive victories. Four Deacons are averaging in double figures led by Porsche Jones' 15.4 points per game.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
"They create a lot of problems," Bolla said. "We don't rebound the ball real well, and that's something they do really well. We've been concentrating on boxing out (offensive players on rebounds)."
Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic
