Looking into my Classic crystal ball …

Na Wahine probably won’t release their 2009-10 schedule for a few more months, but that hasn’t stopped me from wondering who might wander down to the rock next season, particularly for the Wahine Classic. The premier Thanksgiving tournament is the highlight of the ‘Bows – and my – year, and last season all five visiting teams made the NCAA Tournament. So when I learned yesterday that 2009 Elite Eight finisher Arizona State was the first confirmed team (besides Hawaii) making plans for the Stan Sheriff in late November, I decided to get serious about my speculation on who may round out the (usually) eight-team field.

To develop my list, I whipped out my trusty Wahine Basketball Media Guide and flipped to the list of previous Classic participants, figuring that the most likely visitors would be those who’ve set a precedent and traveled to the islands for the tourney before. I ruled out anyone who’s come down within the last four years for either the Classic or for another preseason tourney (though I concede I may have forgotten someone if they came down for another tournament and didn’t play Hawaii). I also figured that the more likely candidates would be those who’ve come down multiple times, and more recently (excluding the last four years). So, though I wish every year that Pat will bring Tennessee for the Classic, I figure it grows less likely by the year since the Lady Vols have not returned since they defeated defending national champion Stanford to win the 1992 Classic (now that was a field!).

I then compared my list of possibles, a healthy mix of teams from major and smaller conferences, against known lineups for competing Thanksgiving tourneys in warm places, like the Paradise Jam and the Junkanoo Jam (adios to TCU and UConn). If the school was not listed in any of these tourneys, I also checked the team’s Web site to see if they had already released their 2009-10 schedule, and if so, if they have a conflicting game (alas, good bye Santa Clara). I also checked to see if they are participating in December’s Duel in the Desert, which Na Wahine are also scheduled for, figuring a school would rather not schedule itself for more than one tournament where they could potentially face the same teams (bye-bye DePaul). (Aside: I’m trying to figure out how to pull off Vegas in December!)

First, some possible teams that I would like to come down, but don’t have high hopes for.

North Carolina State – The Wolf Pack are multi-time Classic participants (1990, 1995, 2000), and new Pack coach Kellie Jolly Harper even brought her former Western Carolina team down for the Paradise Classic in 2007. This makes NC State seem like a prime candidate to add to this year’s tourney roster, but the Pack were originally scheduled to appear in the Paradise Jam before withdrawing, and I doubt they would pull out of that prestigious tourney to come to ours.

Vanderbilt – Vandy is a two-time Classic participant (1986, 1989) and also came down for the Paradise Classic in 1999. This makes the Commodores a decent Classic candidate, but while I would absolutely love to see the ‘Dores in person next year, even without Jen Risper and Tina Wirth (Meredith Marsh! Jence Rhoads!), something in my gut just tells me they won’t be making their first trip to the islands in 10 years.

Utah – Hawaii’s former WAC foe has come down a couple times for the Classic (1990, 2004), including once after being among the eight traitors to defect to form the Mountain West. A 2009 NCAAs participant, the Utes would be a quality addition to the Classic and the timing would be about right, but somehow I’m not hopeful.

UC Santa Barbara – Hawaii's former archrival actually has never come down for the Classic, but did participate in the Paradise Classic in 1997, after the 'Bows bolted from the Big West. I love my Gauchos (now that they're not denying us of an NCAA berth every year), but considering they haven't been back in 12 years, I get the feeling they prefer not having to schedule regular trips to Hawaii.

So what do I think the Classic field will look like? Outside of the confirmed teams, this is pure speculation and in some cases a real stretch, but I have a good feeling about this lineup. Plus, I like it.

Confirmed teams:
Hawaii (duh)
Arizona State

Lori’s likelies (with previous Classic participation):
Louisville (1998)
Michigan (1996, 2000)
Georgia (2004)
Wyoming (1988, 1993, 2001)
Long Beach State (1999) 7/14/09 Edit: LBSU will be at the University of Miami tourney Thanksgiving weekend
Montana (1991, 2003)

Again, I have no inside information on who actually is coming, this is just who I think/hope are good candidates. I picked a mix of majors and midmajors as that is a typical Classic composition. I also figured the schools from the richer major conferences would be more likely to make a longer trek, while our midmajor visitors will more likely come from the Western states (so much for Fordham saying “Mobolaji Akiode!” to the islands again). Of these teams, I am least confident about one-time participant and 2009 national runner-up Louisville, but somehow I keep coming back to them as the other top team to come down. And while a Big XII school usually comes down for the Classic, but this year everyone who’s come down before either have other Thanksgiving commitments or have been down within the last four years.

Now, to sit back and wait for the actual schedule to be released. I do hope I’m wrong and we see a lineup that includes NC State, Vandy, Utah and UCSB. But with my luck, it’ll probably be East West North Carolina State Southern Christian or something.

Annual All-Wahine Classic Awards

It’s that time of year again, when the weather turns cool (y’know, 79 degrees) and the basketballs start flying around the gym! And quite literally, have you seen the Wahine pass? And Thanksgiving weekend means spending all day in the empty icebox known as the Stan Sheriff Center to see some of the best teams in the country — and some other teams too — give it a go in person. I was particularly excited about this year’s Wahine Classic because there’s the AP Poll, and then there’s the Coaches Poll, and then there’s the how-much-Lori-cares Poll, and it looks a little something like this:

1. Hawaii
2. Tennessee
3. Stanford
4. Everybody else

And this year, Stanford was here! I’m giving thanks indeed! And while I love the Wahine, I’m also a realist, so I was very excited to watch Stanford take the tourney title (I don’t care if there was no official tournament winner, Stanford was the winner) by eeking out a win over No. 19 Purdue in OT, then blowing out No. 24 Iowa State and No. 356 Hawaii. (I just made that last number up. I don’t know how many teams there actually are in women’s college basketball, but we’re somewhere near the bottom.) (I kid cause I love.)

And, it’s time once again for us to hand out our own version of the Wahine Classic all-tournament awards!

Stubbornness award — Lori.
Cause I don’t care what it says on the schedule, the Thanksgiving tournament is the Wahine Classic. And Stanford won the Wahine Classic.

Coming Out Party — Jillian Harmon, Stanford, 18 pts. vs. Hawaii.
For years we’ve appreciated Harmon as a role player for the Cardinal, the kind of player who goes out and works hard day in and day out, but may not draw the media attention of the Brooke Smiths, Candice Wiggins’ or Jayne Appels. But Sunday vs. Hawaii, Harmon’s own star shone bright as she scored the first nine points for Stanford, and 12 of the Cardinal’s first 14. Harmon finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 4-of-5 from behind the arc, ALL IN THE FIRST HALF. (She missed most of the second with back spasms.)

The Haven’t You Graduated Yet??? Award — Jillian Harmon, Stanford.
I swear, I’ve been watching Harmon hustle for the Cardinal on TV for like, 10 years now. You’re still around? Didn’t you play with Kate Starbird? But, I’m not really complaining, because …

The Arms that Launched a Thousand Ships — Jillian Harmon, Stanford.
Damn, television just does not do those shapely girl guns justice! Seeing those arms made me change up my whole Wahine Classic viewing plans so I could make sure I took advantage of every opportunity I could to see them in person.

(I promise to give at least one award to someone other than Jill Harmon.)

Most Awesome Shot that Didn’t Count — Jillian Harmon, Stanford, vs. Purdue.
Tied at 65 with 2 seconds on the clock and inbounding from under the Boilermaker basket, Kayla Pedersen threw a baseball pass to Harmon, perched near the Stanford free throw line. Harmon caught it, dribbled to her right, and swished a leaner at the buzzer! Or, according to Melissa Barlow, just after the buzzer. Stanford, which had gone crazy in celebration, regrouped and dominated the overtime period, but it was nowhere near as dramatic and awesome as Harmon’s little buzzer beater. And that was not a charge on Raylene Howard at the ’99 WAC Tourney, Melissa, it was a blocking foul and Ray should’ve completed the 3-point play.

The Now That’s a Foul Award — Trinity Robinson, Prairie View, vs. San Diego State.
On a breakaway layup attempt by the 6-4 Paris Johnson, the 5-8 Robinson got all up in her face and fouled her so hard she stripped her of her headband. It was a smart foul, as Johnson, who is shooting a mere 30 percent from the line this season, missed both free throws.

The My Time Is Now! Award — Dita Liepkalne, Hawaii.
During starting lineup introductions before Saturday’s game against Purdue, Dita ran the HI-5 gauntlet first, only to have announcer Ben Kia`aina introduce Catherine Cho instead. So Dita went back to the bench, and just before the third starter intro, she ran the gauntlet again — as Sarah Ilic was introduced. Back to the bench again for Dita, to wait to be introduced last, the spot usually reserved for the star. (You’re the star, Dita!)

Chatty Cathy Award — Jodi Howell, Purdue.
I don’t think motormouth Howell shut up for a second all weekend. “Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Ball. Shooter! Shooter!” I love talkers.

The Adding Insult to Injury Award — Some Hawaii fan, No. 5 Stanford vs. No. 24 Iowa State.
With Iowa State trailing 27-8 to fifth-ranked Stanford with 6:01 remaining in the first half, a Hawaii fan in the balloon brigade section yelled out: “C’mon Cyclones, let’s hit double figures today.” ISU did not reach double figures until the 4:18 mark.

Best Fans: Iowa State.
Not only were the Cyclones fans so decked out in red and yellow all you could think was “McDonald’s!,” they had a sense of humor too! Even when their Cyclones were getting blown out by Stanford! Sample funny comments from ISU fans while opponents were attempting free throws: “Hey, your shoe’s untied! Hey, your shoe’s untied!” (then on next attempt) “Hey, your sock’s untied! Hey, your sock’s untied!”

Hilo Hattie Award — Hawaii.
Bolla and crew, seriously, you should be setting the aloha shirt example for your visitors, not wearing giant gaudy flowers that would scare Debbie Ryan. Vince Goo wouldn’t be caught dead in those aloha shirts.

A Good Weekend

Wahine Classic wrapup in a sec, but first I am super excited that I won the final Volleytalk Weekly Pick the Winners Contest!. A boost to my swami ego after not doing too well in my final day predictions for the Wahine Classic.

So back to basketball. When I walked into the arena today, Denver was leading Sac State 31-13 at the half. I guess Sac State really was the only truly bad team in the tourney. Denver went on to win 60-31 in some unmemorable fashion not worthy of my writing notes about it.

Texas Tech-UCLA for fifth place on the other hand was quite memorable. I said yesterday that UCLA would win but it would be close, but I was wrong; UCLA didn’t win and it wasn’t that close. Everyone was getting it done for Tech in the first half; Alesha Robinson, Brooke Baughman, and Jordan Murphree drained long 3s and Erin Myrick totally dominated underneath. The bigger Bruins could not take advantage of their size advantage — even when they ran 6-6, 6-4, 6-4 against a Tech lineup with only one player listed taller than 6-0. The Lady Raiders took a 43-26 lead into the break.

As the first half buzzer sounded, one of the officials called a foul on UCLA, sending Tech to the line after the end of the first. UCLA coach Kathy Olivier then proceeded to berate the ref for a few moments before joining her team in the locker room. The poor official disappeared down the tunnel never to be seen again. When the second half started, Melissa Barlow trotted out to take over referee duties. hmmm. Barlow ended up officiating a game and a half today.

Tech extended its lead in the second half, but struggled to protect a 25-point lead late as a renewed Bruin defense pressed the heck out of the Lady Raiders. But Tech held on for the 75-60 victory. How balanced is Tech? Check these numbers out: Robertson 17, Myrick 16, Murphree 14, Chesley Dabbs 12. I used to dislike Texas Tech, but I’m a fan now. I love Alesha Robertson. Not only can she score, she was chasing down rebounds, making great passes, getting her hands on lots of balls defensively. Generously listed at 6-0, she was often matching up with the 6-4 Lindsey Pluimer or the 6-4 Chinyere Ibekwe.

I was also wrong with my prediction for the Wahine-Gonzaga game. I realize now that I based my predictions on the assumption that UCLA is good because of their No. 21 national ranking. Apparently, that was a bad assumption. So, Gonzaga beat UCLA and Texas Tech beat UCLA, and Hawaii beat Gonzaga and Texas Tech — does that mean Hawaii should be ranked? Watching UCLA play, I could see their potential to be very good, but it was obvious they left their “A” game in LA.

The Wahine actually had a 20 point lead in the second over Gonzaga, when Brittany Grice picked up her fourth foul with 10 minutes to play and Tanya Smith picked up her third seconds later. A minute and a half later, Iwona Zagrobelna picked up her third, and I began to suspect we would see Amber Lee finishing out the game out of necessity. Surprisingly though, no one fouled out, and the Wahine held on for the 68-57 win.

I’m really appreciating that Janevia Taylor is becoming more mature in her shot selection. I actually was wishing she would shoot more this afternoon, and I just peeked at the box score and noticed she had nine assists today. We need her to take — and make — better shots consistently.

The final game of the tourney featured the Arkansas Lady ‘Backs against the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels, who’ve pretty much wiped out everyone they’ve faced this season. Arkansas actually kept it close in the first half against the Heels, leading early — very early — and coming back to tie the game at 39 just before the half. But the Lady ‘Backs went through a dry spell and UNC put on a little 7-0 spurt to take a 46-39 lead into the break. Arkansas’ dry spell continued into the second half, and UNC went on to win 94-69. Which is 25 points, what I predicted!

And now that the recaps are over, what you all were really waiting for — Lori’s annual Wahine Classic Awards!

The Hilo Hattie Award: North Carolina
UNC is the runaway fave for this award every year they’re in the tourney, with their hideous powder blue aloha shirts with the palm trees around the bottom. But this year, it was like no one else even tried, as quite a few coaches sported rather plain golf shirts. UCLA, I swear, actually wore T-shirts one day. Aside from UNC, I think I had the ugliest aloha shirt in the arena. In all fairness to UNC, they did buy new matching aloha shirts for the third day that were actually quite nice. Honorable Mention: Sacramento State, for their royal blue and neon green rayon shirts. The problem is, while the shirt looked pretty bad on head coach Dan Muscatell, it actually looked pretty good on assistant Karen Piers.

The Literary Award: Amy Horton, UCLA
Every time Ben Kia`aina announced her name, “Horton Hears a Who!” ran through my mind.

The What the Hell Happened Award: (tie) Noelle Quinn, UCLA, vs. Gonzaga; Sacramento State, vs. North Carolina
Preseason All-American UCLA leading scorer Noelle Quinn absolutely disappeared offensively as the Bruins fell to unranked Gonzaga, 62-57, in the opening round. Quinn could not find her shot, scoring just once on a first-half free throw and going 0-for-8 from the floor. But against North Carolina, Sacramento State as a team probably felt much like Quinn did in their opening round matchup. After being down just 57-30 at the half, the Hornets went 3-of-27 (11.1 percent) from the floor and were outscored 42-8 in the second on the way to the most one-sided victory in Wahine Classic history.

Celebrity Lookalike Award: Susie Gardner, Arkansas head coach
When I asked STAN who the Arkansas coach was, he replied, “Shawn Colvin!” From afar, she reminded me more of Pat Summitt, but when she came closer, I conceded that she sort of resembled a younger, taller, more excitable Shawn Colvin. Sort of. (But in profile she totally looks like a young Pat Summitt!)

The Oh, Really, We Have the Second Best Team in the Nation? Award: North Carolina media
True, they haven’t been tested yet this season, but the Tar Heels are still ranked No. 2 in both polls and have a high-powered run-and-gun offense and a smothering defense that must give opposing point guards nightmares. But apparently that doesn’t matter enough for some Chapel Hill-area station to send out one guy with even a cheapy console. And don’t give me any “but it’s so far” excuses — unranked Arkansas sent THREE people to handle their radio broadcasts, and the UNC fans certainly had no problem making the trip (they easily had the largest contingent at the tourney). Just because I personally don’t like the Tar Heels doesn’t mean they aren’t deserving of media attention — how can we claim women’s basketball is big time if the No. 2 team in the nation can’t even get a little radio coverage in its hometown?

Most Organized Fans: Arkansas
There may have been more Carolina fans, but the Razorback fans were loud, and did their little “Sui” chant in unison before every restart. It’s actually pretty annoying when you’re losing to them.

The We Pay You How Much For This? Award: Jim Bolla, Hawaii head coach
UH head coach Jim Bolla had to change the team signs on the scoreboard above the tunnels before the UCLA-Texas Tech game. It reminded me a bit of the time Bob Coolen had to rake the pitching circle by himself. Watching Bolla was rather amusing, as he’s so incredibly tall he was easily able to reach up and change the signs while one of the kids whose job was actually to change the signs had to stand on a chair to do so. If this coaching thing doesn’t work out for him, I think Bolla has a future in overhead sign changing.

The Jessica Kellogg Award: Pam Tambini, Hawaii

After Janevia Taylor carefully ran down the clock at the close of the first, she tossed the ball to Tambini, who hurled up a wild, rushed 3 from the right corner with eight seconds to go. Not only did Tambini’s shot miss badly, Gonzaga rebounded and Stephanie Hawk zipped down the court to lay the ball in at the buzzer. But no fear, Hawaii still had a 30-19 lead at the break.

And for the first time ever, Lori picks her All-Tournament Team! Selection to the team is based on a mixture of talent, performance in the tourney, and attractiveness. hehe. Actually, my team resembles the actual all-tourney team, except that I picked someone from each school, except North Carolina, cause North Carolina annoys me.

Atty Boyer, Sacramento State
Boyer was the lone bright spot for Sac State in the tourney, scoring team-highs 23 against UCLA and 10 against Denver. She only had a couple against UNC, but hey, who from Sac State scored against UNC anyway? She was almost not pictured because Sac State annoyingly doesn’t have player bios on their Web site, but the best-ever independent researcher STAN found us a photo!

Lindsey Pluimer, UCLA
While UCLA as a team had a tourney they’d surely rather forget, Pluimer individually flourished against much smaller opponents who had no answer for her. She had 14 against Gonzaga, 27 against Sac State, and 15 against Texas Tech. She’s also something of a Sarah Mason-type appearance-wise, if you’re into that kind of a thing.

Alesha Robertson, Texas Tech
I already mentioned why I love Robertson, who finished with 47 points over the weekend. She’s also cute as a button.

Sara Benham, Denver
Benham led the Pioneers with 19 against Arkansas and added 10 against Texas Tech. Good things seemed to happen when the ball was in her hands. The mug shot doesn’t do her justice (actually, no one’s mug shot does them justice).

Donica Cosby, Arkansas
Cosby gets big-time credit for lighting up the Wahine for 24 points. She also had 14 against Denver and 11 against North Carolina, and possesses a silky-smooth jump shot that found its way to the bottom of the net more oft than not. (Could work on handling pressure, but hey she’s just a freshman.)

Michelle Elliot, Gonzaga
Elliott led the Zags with 20 points off the bench in Gonzaga’s upset of UCLA. She also dropped in 19 in a loss to Hawaii. Also has the cute girl-next-door quality to her.

Brittany Grice, Hawaii
Grice had a double-double for the ‘Bows with 18 points and 10 boards against Gonzaga, and had 15 in a loss to Arkansas. I maintain that the Wahine offense has to go through Grice to be successful, even if she just passes the ball out to a wing. All the no-pass long shots by Wahine guards annoy me to no end.

So after watching most of 12 women’s basketball games at the Special Events Arena this weekend, I have come to two grand conclusions: 1) The ushers walk back and forth too much; and 2) They should really give another chicken strip if they’re going to charge $4.50 for that thing.

Wahine Classic, Day 2

I think Sac State sensed that I called them “the only truly bad team” in the Wahine Classic and took offense. When I got to the arena today, Sac State was giving UCLA a game! Or maybe UCLA is overrated. Whatever the case, it was 8-8 through the first six minutes or so, and I was excitedly anticipating texting STAN at the half that Sac State was up/close. Alas, Noelle Quinn made her first basket of the tourney at the 13:48 mark (following up her own blown transition layup), and scored eight points in six minutes to give the Bruins some breathing room. In the end though, Sac State just had no answer for 6-4 forward Lindsey Pluimer, who could shoot over the undersized Hornets from anywhere on the floor.

In the second game of the day, Texas Tech routed Denver, 67-53. I was impressed by Denver’s Nnenna Akotaobi, mostly because I didn’t realize you can fit so many N’s into one six-letter name.

Game three featured our Rainbow Wahine against those speed demon Lady ‘Backs. The Wahine were up eight in the first half over Arkansas, and I started entertaining visions of revenge for that NCAA first round loss to the Lady ‘Backs at Stanford in ’98. But that was short lived, and several Donica Cosby 3s later, it was the Lady ‘Backs who were the ones entertaining a double digit lead. May they knock off the Tar Heels tomorrow.

Last game featured North Carolina against Gonzaga, who already have one upset in the tourney. They wouldn’t knock off their second consecutive ranked opponent though, as UNC’s smothering defense kept the Zags off balance most of the game. Gonzaga did go on a little run to pull to within 20 in the second half, but UNC turned up the defense again and went on to win 101-63. Good news for the Zags — their 63 points was 25 more than any other UNC opponent has managed against the Heels’ defense this season. Bad news for the Zags — they were the first to allow the Heels to crack the century mark.

Oh, and while we’re talking about UNC, STAN provided us with the Tar Heels’ scores coming into the Classic:
vs. east tenn. state 96-35
vs. winston-salem state (provisional D-I member) 83-32
vs. elon 90-36

Who the hell are those teams?

Tomorrow’s matchups (with Lori’s predicted winners):
7th place game: Denver vs. Sac State (Denver)
5th place game: No. 21 UCLA vs. Texas Tech (UCLA, but I think it’ll be close)
3rd place game: Gonzaga vs. Hawaii (Gonzaga)
1st place game: UNC vs. Arkansas (UNC, but by less than 25!)

A Classic!

It’s Wahine Classic time! This has to be my favorite weekend of the year. This year’s Classic field is a particularly strong one, not just for No. 2 North Carolina and No. 21 UCLA, but the unranked teams in town are nothing to sneeze at either. I mean, the Wahine faced traditional powerhouse Texas Tech on the first day! True, Tech hasn’t been as tough recently as in its glory days, but still, usually Hawaii schedules some no name they can wipe out by 20 points for the opening round. But this year, probably the only truly bad team is Sacramento State, and they got the honor of being crushed by UNC in the first round.

I arrived today with about 10 minutes left in the UNC-Sac State game. Blowout with a capital B. The Hornets only scored eight points on 3-of-27 shooting (11.1 percent) in the second half, to fall 99-38 to the Tar Heels, a new Wahine Classic record for margin of victory. The saddest thing though, is STAN called me later and said the 38 points scored by Sac State is the most UNC has given up this season. Who has UNC been playing, Division II teams? I asked STAN.

Oh, and hey, I thought Ivory Latta was a senior last year? Or was that wishful thinking?

The next game was UCLA-Gonzaga in a matchup that was very unlike the first game. After a close matchup through the first five minutes or so, the Zags pulled away from the Bruins and led by 12 at the break. UCLA shooting 25 percent from the floor and committing 14 turnovers in the first didn’t help. (The Bruins scored just three more points than they had turnovers in the first!) Gonzaga would go up by as much as 14 early in the second half, but UCLA mounted a comeback and pulled to within one twice, but could never pull ahead. Gonzaga finished off UCLA, 62-57, with a buttload of free throws down the stretch.

The next game featured Arkansas-Denver. The Lady ‘Backs impressed me the most for the day as coming in I had no idea how good they might be. They proved to be fast, athletic and loaded with silky-smooth shooters. Considering their quickness, I would have assumed they would be more slashers, but they proved they could pull up and hit the set shot with the best of them. The Lady ‘Backs finished the game shooting 43.1 percent from the floor, including 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from behind the 3-point arc, to easily beat Denver, 84-58. I think I’m going to have to watch what they do in the SEC this year.

I particularly took a liking to the Arkansas coaching staff. Head coach Susie Gardner reminded me of a younger Pat Summitt, the way she was jumping around in front of the Lady ‘Back bench. But they really won me over when they came over and sat in front of me and I could overhear them joking around. The male assistant coach was wearing a lei, and when Gardner came over, she asked, “Hey, where’s my lei at? … I never got one.” Okay, typing that here, it doesn’t sound funny, but I swear at the time it was hilarious. The coaches stayed through the Hawaii-Texas Tech game. Tech has a player, Patrice Edwards, who is a total tree, 6-6 and super skinny. Every time she took the court, I got nervous her legs would snap in two they were so skinny. Anyway, at one point during the second half of the UH-TTU game, when Edwards came in, one of the Arkansas assistants leaned over to the rest of the Lady ‘Back coaching staff and said, “[she's] 6-6, 106.” I started cracking up.

So the nightcap (at 5:30 in the afternoon) was Hawaii-Texas Tech. STAN made me nervous before today as he didn’t think the Wahine could top the Lady Raiders, but I couldn’t believe the ‘Bows would schedule them for day one if they didn’t think they could beat ‘em. I was quickly reassured when the Wahine sprung out to a double digit lead on the Raiders. It was the Taylor and Tambini show early, as Janevia and Pam knocked down a bunch of long shots to power the ‘Bows at the beginning. I was worried though as I didn’t think that could last, and it didn’t. Trailing 42-28 in the second, Tech went on a 13-0 run to pull to within one halfway through the second half. This is just like the UCLA game, I thought, hope it ends like that one! And thankfully it did, with the ‘Bows squeezing by the Lady Raiders, 57-54.

Saundra Cariaga got her first start of the season tonight, and looked pretty stellar. She shot 50 percent from the floor and finished with 12 points; there was one point early in the second half when it seemed like everything she threw up would drop. I hope this is a sign of things to come for her; after all, it’s been more than three years since STAN and I declared she reminded us of Nani Cockett.

As I watched tonight’s Wahine game and thought of how we’d compared Cariaga to Cockett so long ago, it made me realize that we are long overdue for another Nani Cockett/Raylene Howard type player. Cockett and Howard were very different players stylewise, but both could completely take over the game and consistently carry the team. Nani had that sweet, sweet shot that I really haven’t seen since, and no one could create like Ray. Sure, there are occasional flashes of brilliance from a Taylor or a Tambini, but I usually feel more uneasy than relieved when they toss up a 3-ball. But watching Cariaga’s own smooth shot tonight, I could almost feel Nani Cockett’s presence. (Actually, for all I know, Cockett might have been in the arena, they do go to a lot of games after all.) I feel a little bad, comparing Saundra to the other No. 20 so often, but I really do think she has the potential to be great, and I hope tonight was her first step towards building her own legend.

Demonic matchup

STAN is getting me hooked on DIII basketball. Sure, it’s not exactly like watching Tennessee battle Duke, but the level of play is still pretty high, and there’s something refreshing about watching athletes who are playing for their love of the sport (DIII does not offer athletic scholarships). Today I donned my best black dress and accompanied STAN to Kamehameha to watch Cal Lutheran battle nationally-ranked Mr. George Fox (I’ve got better things planned ?). I know, I was supposed to be rooting for underdog Cal Lutheran, with their three players from Hawaii, including our favorite pseudo newsroom baller and Maryknoll alumna. But when George Fox got into rhythm, they were pretty exciting to watch. Not to mention that they were stacked with cuties.

So, since I went with STAN to DIII ball and since I’d told someone I’d go to their party thing last night, I missed a whole day *gasp* of the Wahine Classic. Which is too bad, cause DePaul is my new favorite team. I really like the “we’re on defense, slap the ground” thing they do. Not to mention I’m in love with Jenna Rubino. As Sau would say, Jenna Rubino is teh hotness. She struggled a little yesterday against Eastern Michigan, but I could tell she was a much better ballplayer than that. Sure enough, when I got home after DIII ball today, I snuck a quick peek online to catch the in-progress score of the DePaul-Texas A&M game, and noticed Jenna Rubino had 14 points at the half. Grrr.

STAN really likes DePaul cause the team chaplain (used to?) sit on the bench with the team (I didn’t notice him on Friday). Which I was thinking about tonight after STAN texted me that Wisconsin would match up with DePaul tomorrow for the Wahine Classic title. He included a line wondering if the Badgers would exorcise the Demons, and then I thought it very strange that a school whose team chaplain sits on the bench with the team would be nicknamed the Blue DEMONS. But maybe it makes sense to them.

Classic again!

Wow the Wahine Basketball team had an awesome comeback against Texas A&M today. The Aggies got out to a fast start on the Wahine sans Janevia Taylor, scoring the first 13 points of the ball game. Then the Wahine put in sophomore walk on point guard Amy Kotani, and the ‘Bows battled back. But even more impressive was the play of junior transfer Cassidy Chretien at the point — she had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, including some key layups in the second half. The ‘Bows actually had a 66-63 lead in the final moments of the game, but TAMU’s A’Quo Franklin hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to tie the game and cause me to see visions of overtime. But the ‘Bows inbounded to Chretien, who took it the length of the floor and attempted a layup which fell short, but Amy Sanders grabbed it and buried the putback with 0.9 seconds on the clock to give the Wahine the victory.

I swear, tonight’s game had me more excited about Wahine basketball than I have been in three years. There’s this kind of scrappy, hard-working underdog quality to this year’s team that’s really attractive. I think Cassidy Chretien could be the Wahine’s first really good true point in years, which would be a beautiful complement to the power posts and Amy Sanders on the wing. I’m getting serious about catching every Wahine game I can this season.

And it’s time for our sometimes-annual, totally irreverent all-tournament awards! If you couldn’t tell, these were not official.

The Wrong Place, Wrong Time Award: Hawaii’s Callie Spooner.

Spooner exited the tunnel with an armful of tape just as Wisconsin badgered Idaho State into an errant pass. Callie and the tape never stood a chance.

The Who Needs Hilo Hattie Award: Idaho State.

STAN and I agreed that the Bengals coaching staff, stacked with former Hawaii coaches, had the most tasteful aloha shirts in the tourney. Even better than Hawaii (outfitted by Hilo Hattie).

Antisocial Award (The Stanley): Referee Anita Ortega (STAN’s friend).

When a Texas A&M player went over to shake her hand during intros, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She waved away both TAMU and Northridge players after that.

The Awww, I’ll Be Your Fan Award: CSU Northridge-Texas A&M.

It was so quiet in the arena during that game that you could hear the timer they use to time timeouts go off. Not the horn — the little egg timer or whatever on the scorer’s table way across the court. This was almost a tie with the DePaul-Eastern Michigan game, but the Northridge players were in the stands during that game and they were noisy.

The Sorry, We Thought You Were Someone Else Award: Eastern Michigan’s Kivilcim Yamanoglu.

When we first glanced at the rosters, STAN and I both thought we’d located yet another one of the Kimyacioglu sisters.

The Almost a Jessica Kellogg Award: CSUN’s Katie Holloway.

With Northridge down 63-61 and a 15-second difference between the shot and game clocks, Holloway fouled Washington State’s Kate Benz at the top of the key with 7 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Benz missed both free throws, but CSUN turned the ball over before they could run a play …

The Too Little, Too Late Award: CSUN’s Jamie McCaa.

After turning the ball over on the previous possession, giving WSU the chance to sink two free throws to make it a 4-point game, McCaa nailed a 3 at the buzzer to make the final score 65-64 WSU.

The What Happened to Fair and Impartial Award: Referee Melissa Barlow.

Barlow was jumping up and down for T-shirts during halftime of the Hawaii-Texas A&M game. At least she wasn’t reffing that game. (And we had no complaints on charges called by Barlow this tournament — none that we can remember anyway.)

The Hey, Is This Madison? Award: Wisconsin.

The Badgers had their mascot plus enough cheerleaders to spell out “Wisconsin” with flags, and perhaps the largest following in the stands since UConn in ’95 (read: post-first-undefeated season). Course, the Badger football team probably accounted for two-thirds of the fans in the stands.

The Metamucil Award: Some Wisconsin fan.

The way he was moaning while DePaul shot free throws, I couldn’t tell if he was trying to distract the Blue Demons or if he hadn’t had a bowel movement in days.

Best Arms: Hawaii’s Brittany Grice.

Girl’s been working out, and it shows. We expect big things from her and her arms this year.

Your Mug Shot Doesn’t Do You Justice Award: DePaul’s Jenna Rubino.

Trust me, Jenna Rubino is teh hotness.

Easy as 1-2-3

Happy Thanksgiving! That’s always happy for me, cause I know it means basketball, basketball, basketball! I sat through four games of the Thanksgiving tourney today and three games yesterday and will probably go for three and a half tomorrow woohoo! And this year, I’m back in the stands again, cheering my little heart out and actually enjoying myself!

I did have one complaint though. The old man at the door almost didn’t let me in for free with my student ID. I showed him my ID, and he’s like rolling it around in his hands like he’s never seen one before. And then he goes, “it’s not validated right?” My ID, with 13 validations on the back, is not validated? Hello? What do you think “FAL 03″ means? They need to have the student ushers at the gate again, at least they know what ID cards and validations look like.

I might be in the stands, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still hand out MY all-tournament awards!

• Hilo Hattie Award: Navy coaching staff. Not only were everyone’s aloha shirts individually hideous, they all clashed.
• Crayola Award: Debbie Ryan, Virginia coach. In its first year, this spinoff of the Hilo Hattie Award goes to Ryan, who looked like she got lost in a crayon factory and tripped into the vats. Not to mention those fluorescing green pants that kept the arena lighted through the power outage (no one else noticed this outage because her pants kept the place lighted). STAN called her “neon smurf.”
• Nicest Arms: Jamie Carey, Texas. Hands — or arms — down.
• Potty Mouth Award: Kate Maslowski, Navy, for yelling “fuck” as she lost the ball out of bounds in the corner. Close second: Shawntinice Polk, Arizona, for yelling “shit” after throwing the ball out of bounds
• Generous Roster Award: LaTonya Blue, Virginia. The roster listed LaTonya Blue at 6-6. LaTonya Blue is not 6-6. Trust me.
• Too Huge for the Roster Award: Lynette O’Reggio, Virginia. She’s so tall, they couldn’t list her height on the roster.
• Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter Award: The media relations person who typed up the Virginia roster. They apparently wanted to meet VIRGINA.
• Worst Dye-Job: Jade Abele, Hawai`i. I don’t know what the box said, Jade, but that color ain’t blond.
• We Can Hear You Now Award: Tom Marryott, Navy coach, for yelling “Zona’s going to press, pass it on” so loud that people on press row could hear him. (Good)
• The Anti-Jessica Kellogg Award: April Atuaia and Pam Tambini, Hawai`i, for NOT shooting with less than 10 seconds left in overtime and down by three.
• Creepiest post-game ritual: The Texas team and their fans. The players on the court face up to their fans in the crowd and they all hold up the devil sign on their right hands and start chanting. Weird.

STAN was also at the games, covering for the AP. He was sitting with his butt half off his chair like Grace Wen had some hideous contagious disease. Speaking of STAN, now that it’s basketball season, we might see more journal entries from him, if we can ever pry him away from singing his ABCs on Friendster.