The University of Hawaii women's basketball team got what it wanted - and needed - Saturday night with a 65-57 WAC victory over Fresno State. The Wahine (15-4, 8-1) now head for the road, taking on UNLV Thursday and Air Force Saturday, two teams that need wins even more than Hawaii.
The Wahine are looking at extending their winning streak to five as well as increasing their chances for one of the two top spots in the Pacific Division. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams receive first-round byes in the 12-team WAC Tournament next month in Las Vegas.
The tournament battles are at the top and bottom. The Pacific and the Mountain Divisions will send their respective top six teams.
Hawaii (8-1) and Colorado State (8-1) are a half-game behind leader San Diego State (9-1). Air Force (1-9), UNLV (1-8) and San Jose State (1-8) are fighting for the sixth tournament spot.
"We want to be one of those two top teams," said Wahine freshman guard Raylene Howard after an 11-point, six-rebound performance Saturday. "Going back on the road, we want to go out and play as hard as we can. We want these next two bad.
"Coach (Vince Goo) talks about need and want. We need and want both these games. If we go out and play hard, it will happen."
Saturday night, in front of their largest home crowd of the season (1,713), the Wahine made things happen whenever the Bulldogs threatened to pull a repeat of the game last month in Fresno.
In the WAC season opener, Hawaii led by nine with two minutes to go, only to have to rely on a 3-pointer by Nani Cockett to send it into overtime. The Wahine won, 61-60, on a free throw by Brandi Ashby.
Saturday, Hawaii held a 40-26 lead four minutes into the second half. Fresno State went on a 12-2 run to close the gap to four points.
The Wahine answered with five points from Cockett and a basket by Itoman. The Bulldogs would not go away, closing to 56-50 with 3:48 to go.
"We asked our players do we want to repeat the same scenario we had on the road," said Goo. "They said no."
Cockett sank two free throws and Itoman buried her second 3-pointer to help Hawaii pull out to a seven-point lead during a stretch that saw the Bulldogs' leading scorer Janee Young foul out. Fresno State drew to within 61-54 with 61 seconds left but the Wahine iced it with four free throws.
Itoman finished with a career-high 20 points, hitting 7 of 10 shots from the floor. Cockett added 18 points.
"We had a lot of close losses in the beginning of the season," said Howard. "We learned a lot from those. We established that heart early on and we've been playing off it. Now, when we get in these close game, we know how to pick it up."
The Wahine want to pick up two wins this week but they know it won't be easy. Despite their records, UNLV and Air Force have played opponents tough at home.
The Falcons threw a scare into Colorado State Saturday before falling, 61-46. The Lady Rebels were 14-0 in Las Vegas against the Wahine until Hawaii broke the streak last season, 73-66.