Southeast plans a Hawaiian punch

Southeast Missouri State University's women planned to have some off-the-court fun in Hawaii -- but their main focus this week is on basketball.

Coach B.J. Smith's squad arrived in Honolulu on Tuesday evening after a flight of approximately 10 hours. After some sightseeing on Wednesday, Southeast is gearing up for the three-team Waikiki Beach Mariott Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii.

Southeast (4-1) plays Hawaii (1-2) tonight and Brigham Young (4-1) Friday night. Both games will begin at 11 p.m. CST.

"We're going to see Pearl Harbor and maybe come up with something else. I'm sure we'll go to the beach," Smith said before leaving Cape Girardeau early Tuesday morning. "But there really won't be a whole lot of time. Most of the time will be basketball.

"Everybody is excited about the trip, but we also want to stay focused on basketball."

Smith said the University of Hawaii is paying for most of Southeast's expenses, which made the opportunity to compete in the tournament too good to pass up.

"They contacted us and said they needed another team for their tournament, and it really worked out well for us," Smith said.

And Smith expects Southeast, which has won four straight games against largely inferior competition, to be tested by two high profile teams.

"Both teams are really good. They're both big and strong, and they execute," Smith said. "We'll have to really play well to win either game."

Smith considers BYU to be better than Hawaii, but the Rainbows will have the advantage of playing at home.

BYU, said Smith, is a "borderline top 25 team." The Cougars' only loss was by three points to No. 24 Arizona. Three of their four victories have been by at least 17 points.

The Cougars, who feature six players 6-feet-2 or taller, are led by 6-0 junior forward Ambrosia Anderson's 14 points per game. Also averaging in double figures are 6-2 senior forward Kristen Kozlowski (12.0 ppg), 5-10 freshman guard Mallory Gillespie (11.4 ppg) and 5-8 senior guard Julie Sullivan (10.4 ppg).

BYU is outrebounding its opponents by an average of six per game.

"They're big everywhere, and they have so many returning players," Smith said. "Their game against Arizona went down to the last shot."

Hawaii, which had a string of eight straight winning seasons snapped last year, also has an experienced team with four returning starters.

The Rainbows, who feature four players 6-3 or taller, are led by 6-1 senior forward Jade Abele (17.3 ppg) and 6-3 sophomore center Alofa Toiaivac (11.0 ppg).

"Hawaii is probably not as good as BYU, but they're still good, and playing on their home court will be tough," Smith said.

Southeast continues to be led by 6-2 junior center Tatiana Conceicao, a first-team junior college All-American last year who is averaging 21.2 points per game. She has scored 26 or more points in three of Southeast's five contests, including a high of 27 during last week's win at Southern Illinois.

Southeast's second-leading scorer also is a junior college transfer, 6-0 junior forward Natalie Purcell (14.2 ppg), while 5-7 senior guard Brandi Russia (11.4 ppg) also is averaging in double figures.

Smith believes at least one win in Hawaii would be a major lift for Southeast.

"Of course we'd like to win both games, but if we could just get at least one, it would be big," he said.