Hawaii shows off
new defense

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball team won its first tournament in almost two years by defeating Brigham Young 56-44 in the championship game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Invitational yesterday before 320 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The 44 points is the lowest total this year for the Cougars (5-2), who had been averaging 73 points per game. BYU hit just 16 of 55 field-goal attempts (29 percent) and struggled even more in the first half (21 percent).

The Rainbow Wahine (3-2) began the game with a zone defense, something they had rarely shown. There was concern for BYU's 3-point shooting capabilities.

"We started the game that way to give them a look. We showed the zone, then went to a man. I thought we did a good job of confusing them today," said UH coach Jim Bolla.

"These kind of games are good for us, to play against physical teams who try to shut you down and dominate. BYU really runs its offense well. They take their time, wear you down and when you lose focus they get the easy basket. I'm glad they weren't hitting today."

BYU (5-2) didn't shoot well because the Wahine made it difficult for the Cougars to penetrate or to pass inside effectively. And Amy Sanders and Dalia Solia played excellent defense on BYU's 3-point shooters. The Cougars made only one of 11 3-point attempts in the first half and hit four for the game, three by Nancy Seljaas.

The Cougars had trouble penetrating the UH zone in the first half and could not answer over the top. The first half was marked by periods when neither team could buy a basket. The 22-15 halftime score in favor of the Wahine was the end result.

"We had to disrupt what they were going to run. Pat (Charity, associate coach) did a great job of scouting BYU. And (Ambrosia) Anderson did not play (significantly) today," said Bolla.

Anderson, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds against Southeast Missouri State on Friday, did not score against UH on four shots and had one rebound. Sanders guarded Anderson most of the time the 6-foot junior forward was in the game.

A jumper by Janevia Taylor with 12:14 left gave the Wahine a 15-4 advantage and they kept the double-digit lead until the 8:01 mark, when BYU's Kali Taylor hit a jumper from 10 feet to cut the UH lead to 16-8.

"We let them back in at the end of the first half. You can't go that long (8 minutes) and score that few points and keep winning games," said Bolla. "We are starting to learn to be resilient."

Hawaii led the entire game, but the Cougars rallied to trail by four 45-41 with 3:20 to play.

Alofa Toiaivao, who had 13 points and nine rebounds, hit a jumper, made two free throws and sank another jumper to up UH's lead to a more comfortable 51-43 margin with 1:34 on the clock.

"That's the kind of player Alofa is capable of being," said Bolla.

"This was a big game for her because BYU is in her backyard (Sandy, Utah). She didn't show it on the floor, but she wanted to play very well in this game. Alofa will be a little more effective against these physical teams."

"How much of a difference does Alofa make? She is big-time. She is athletic, has height and if someone gives me trouble she knocks them on their butt," said Jade Abele.

The senior co-captain was named the Invitational's MVP.

"I reckon the Cougars were the most physical team we've come up against this year," said Abele. "It's a massive win. We play Houston next and they are ranked. This gives us a boost in confidence and everyone is playing well."

Hawaii 56, Brigham Young 44

Cougars (5-2, 1-1 WBMI)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Seljaas	4	8	1	2	20	2	0	12
Goold	0	0	0	0	26	0	4	0
Sullivan	2	5	0	1	14	0	2	4
Taylor	1	5	0	0	12	4	5	2
Gillespie	1	6	0	0	18	4	0	2
Kozlowski	5	13	4	4	30	5	0	14
Anderson	0	4	0	0	12	1	1	0
Johnsen	0	0	1	2	21	2	1	1
Abell	0	3	0	0	5	2	0	0
Chessman	3	11	2	2	36	12	1	9
Riley	0	0	0	0	6	2	0	0
Team						3
Totals	16	55	8	11	200	37	14	44
Rainbow Wahine (3-2, 2-0 WBMI)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Taylor	2	6	3	4	35	7	1	7
Abele	6	10	5	6	35	4	4	19
Nishimoto	0	1	0	0	5	2	0	0
Sanders	2	7	2	2	30	2	1	6
Solia	1	1	0	0	11	1	2	2
Macfarlane	1	3	1	2	28	2	2	3
Spooner	0	1	0	0	7	1	2	0
Grice	3	9	0	0	19	3	2	6
Toiaivao	4	10	5	6	30	9	2	13
Team						3
Totals	19	48	16	20	200	34	16	56

Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime--Hawaii 22, BYU 15
3-point goals--BYU 4-19 (Seljaas 3-6, Chessman 1-2, Gillespie 0-5, Sullivan 0-2, Taylor 0-2, Anderson 0-1, Kozlowski 0-1); Hawaii 2-8 (Abele 2-3, Sanders 0-2, Taylor 0-2, Macfarlane 0-1). Personal fouls--BYU 17, Hawaii 11. Fouled out--Sullivan.
Steals--BYU 5 (Kozlowski 2, Chessman, Goold, Taylor); Hawaii 7 (Abele 4, Taylor 2, Toiaivao). Blocked shots--BYU 1 (Chessman); Hawaii 6 (Toiaivao 3, Grice 2, Sanders). Turnovers--BYU 17 (Anderson 3, Kozlowski 3, Seljaas 3, Gillespie 2, Goold 2, Chessman, Johnsen, Taylor, Riley); Hawaii 12 (Sanders 4, Toiaivao 2, Abele, Grice, Macfarlane, Nishimoto, Solia, Taylor); Officials--Donovan Lewis, Brian Yamasaki, Ryan Wells. A--889.