Dec. 11, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team is bound for Paradise where it will participate in the Hawaii Invitational in Honolulu on Dec. 14-15. UK will face host Hawaii on Saturday at midnight ET. UNLV and Long Island meet in the first game at 10 p.m. ET. UK’s game will be broadcast live on WLXG Sports Radio 1300 with Drew Deener.
The Wildcats (2-3) are hoping the warmer weather will be kinder as they look to snap a three-game losing streak. The Cats fell in the final minute on Saturday to intrastate rival Western Kentucky, 88-83, after losses to Evansville and Washington.
“This trip is a great opportunity for us to get back on track,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “I thought we played well in our last game, we just have take care of the little things. Hawaii is always a solid team and we need to come out of the gates running.”
This marks UK’s second trip to Hawaii since 1998. UK defeated Louisville and Hawaii in the Rainbow Wahine Classic before falling in the championship game to UCLA that year. That Cast went on to finish 20-11 and advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Senior Rita Adams, who has moved back to the point guard spot, had a superb performance in UK’s last outing, pouring in a career-high 29 points, including 12 points from behind the arc. Adams and sophomore Sara Potts are the Cats’ leading scorers, averaging 15.4 ppg apiece. Adams needs three assists to move into the Top 10 on UK’s career assists list. Junior SeSe Helm, who charted her sixth career double-double in the last game with 18 points/10 rebounds is averaging 10.4 points while Shambrica Jones rounds out the scoring column with 10.2 ppg. Jones’ 7.0 rebounds per game leads UK.
Hawaii also hopes to end its losing streak after dropping two straight games to ranked opponents. The Rainbow Wahine fell to fourth-ranked Connecticut 60-53 and No. 12 North Carolina 61-50.
Four Rainbow Wahine are averaging double figures this season with April Atuaia leading the way, scoring 13.0 points per game. Natasja Allen and Jade Abele follow with 11.8 points each while Christen Roper averages 10.6 ppg.
Coach Vince Goo is in his 16th season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine. His teams have won 20 or more games in 11 of his 15 years and advanced to nine post-season appearances, including five in the NCAA Tournament.
Due to the Hawaii games being televised this weekend, the Rainbow Wahine will play the 10 p.m. ET game on Sunday, Dec. 15. The schedule originally had the championship at 10 p.m. ET. That means Kentucky will play the 8 p.m. ET game on Sunday regardless of Saturday’s outcome.
