Posted on: Saturday, January 8, 2005

UH women step up 'intensity' for road

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Soft is for great for pillows and marshmallows, but hardly fitting for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team which has worked this week to get tougher for its upcoming three road games.

After being humbled by Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla for being too "soft" in a 70-48 conference loss last week to visiting Fresno State, the Rainbow Wahine responded with a series of spirited practices in preparation for today's Western Athletic Conference game at San Jose State.

"Intensity is the No. 1 thing," said Hawai'i co-captain Jade Abele, who leads her team against the Spartans today at 5 p.m. at The Events Center. "Practices have definitely picked up. We're not so nice to each other any more. If someone is cutting through the paint, you're looking to put them on their (butts)."

Hawai'i (5-4 overall, 1-1 WAC) is on its first road trip of the season, a three-game conference swing through California, Texas and Louisiana. The 11-day trip is considered the longest and one of the toughest this season with games at conference leaders Southern Methodist (12-1, 3-0) on Jan. 13 and Louisiana Tech (7-4, 3-0) on Jan. 15.

It will be the first meeting between Louisiana Tech and a Bolla-coached Hawai'i team. Bolla — who took over the UH program from long-time coach Vince Goo this season — vowed to beat Louisiana Tech during his tenure when he spoke before the Honolulu Quarterback Club last August. Hawai'i is 0-13 against Louisiana Tech, the three-time defending WAC champions.

"In women's basketball, you got Louisiana Tech, 'the team to beat,' " Bolla said at the luncheon. "I don't have any problem with that. But we're going to beat them. My goal is we're beating them. We will get that done."

Hawai'i co-captain Milia Macfarlane said Bolla's confidence has had a positive influence on herself and the team.

"The majority of us last year really thought we could beat a bunch of these teams, too," Macfarlane said. "But we need everyone to buy into this. I think that's happening this year."

This season, Bolla has worked to transform Hawai'i from a passive team into a successful "blue collar" unit. He has emphasized rebounding and toughness this week.

"We need to be more of a physical team," he said. "We're not good enough to be a finesse team and just shoot jumpers and think we're going to beat people. We need to have that blue-collar mentality and just work real hard, and grind it out."

San Jose State is led by freshman post player Amber Jackson who is averaging nearly a statistical double-double per game. Jackson leads the WAC in scoring (18.2 points per game) and field goal percentage (71.5 percent) and is fourth in rebounding (8.9 per game).

Hawai'i will counter with guards Janevia Taylor (12.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Macfarlane (8.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg), forwards Abele (12.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Amy Sanders (8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg), and center Brittany Grice (5.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg). Sanders is coming off a career-high 25-point performance in a 71-43 victory over Nevada on New Year's Day.

The Rainbow Wahine will miss a week of school on the trip. An academic advisor is traveling with the team, and players will participate in study halls, Bolla said. Bolla also said he wanted to take his team on field trips, among other treats.

"We want them to experience other things, ride the cable car in San Francisco," Bolla said. "We've got kids who have never been to San Francisco. We're not going to lock them up in their rooms."

Note: KKEA radio (1420 AM) will carry the Hawai'i games live.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.