RAINBOW WAHINE BASKETBALL
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Alofa Toiaivao had six points and eight rebounds for the Rainbow Wahine last night.
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Wahine keep winning
THE HAWAII women's basketball team took almost 10 minutes last night to get focused and put the ball in the basket consistently.
The Rainbow Wahine recovered from a poor start to take the lead seconds before halftime en route to a 61-55 victory before a crowd of 794 in a nonconference game at the Stan Sheriff Center. Despite several challenges from the Kent State Golden Flashes in the second half, UH never gave up the lead to secure the Wahine's (8-2) sixth consecutive win.
Hawaii struggled for the first 7 minutes, hitting only one of 13 field-goal attempts. The Golden Flashes (7-3) were successful on six of their first 10 shots and built a 14-4 lead.
Hawaii went almost 8 minutes before Alofa Toiaivao scored the second Wahine field goal with 12:46 left in the half. It came after UH coach Jim Bolla switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone.
"They started out so fast but once we switched to a zone, they slowed down and we started to pick it up," UH captain Amy Sanders said. "Even though we don't use a lot of players, I think we're in pretty good shape and we don't slow down the whole game."
UH remained in the zone the rest of the half, but went back to man in the second.
Lindsay Shearer and Sarah Burgess connected on treys for Kent State on either side of a bucket by UH guard Janevia Taylor to give the Golden Flashes a 20-8 advantage with 11:38 remaining before the break.
Hawaii slowly turned the tide with a more aggressive defense, better rebounding and improved accuracy from the field.
The Wahine scored 18 points in the paint starting with Toiaivao's basket, and held Kent State to four inside points after the Golden Flashes scored their first eight points with quick drives down the lane.
"We can't simulate their quickness in practice," Bolla said.
Hawaii twice closed to within a point in the last 3 minutes of the half before going ahead 31-30 on a layup by Amy Sanders with 27 seconds to go. Taylor sank two free throws with seven ticks on the clock for a 33-30 UH lead at intermission.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH's Amy Sanders, battled Kent State's Malika Willoughby, left, and Lindsey Shearer for a loose ball last night.
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"Our big concern was their up-tempo offense and their quickness out front. Going to the zone helped us settle down and then we got a couple of stops on defense," Bolla said. "I wasn't real concerned about the slow start. It's the second time we've come back from a long layoff this year.
"Kent State plays hard, but they had three or four kids cramp up at the end and that was a benefit for us."
Burgess scored the first basket of the second half, but the Wahine responded with eight consecutive points. Taylor hit two medium-range jumpers and Dalia Solia connected on a pair of 15-footers for a 41-32 UH lead.
Kent State fought back to pull within three points (47-44) at the 10-minute mark with Shearer's two baskets leading the way.
A short jumper in the lane by Toiaivao and two more baskets by Taylor gave UH a 53-44 lead with 8:25 to play.
The Golden Flashes came right back on a layup by Mallorie Griffith and consecutive backdoor layups and a foul shot by Burgess to trail by two (53-51).
Taylor's fast-break layup and Kerrie James' high jumper off the glass kept the point differential at two.
Taylor, who led all scorers with 20 points, hit four consecutive free throws for a 59-53 lead with 4:54 to play.
The only scoring the rest of the game were two free throws by Pam Tambini at 1:57 and two by James with no time left on the clock. Brittany Grice tied her career high with 16 rebounds.
The teams play again tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Hawaii 61, Kent Stent 55
GOLDEN FLASHES (7-3)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Bennett |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
James |
4 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
33 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
Willoughby |
1 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
35 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
Shearer |
6 |
22 |
0 |
2 |
38 |
7 |
0 |
15 |
LaFleur |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Vavrek |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Burgess |
7 |
14 |
1 |
2 |
31 |
3 |
3 |
17 |
Stewart |
2 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
18 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
Scull |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Griffith |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
Team |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
Totals |
21 |
67 |
7 |
16 |
200 |
47 |
13 |
55 |
RAINBOW WAHINE (8-2)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp |
Taylor |
6 |
15 |
8 |
9 |
33 |
5 |
2 |
20 |
Sanders |
3 |
8 |
3 |
6 |
36 |
7 |
4 |
10 |
Solia |
4 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
5 |
4 |
8 |
Tambini |
3 |
14 |
3 |
3 |
34 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
Grice |
2 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
27 |
16 |
0 |
6 |
Chretien |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Smith |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
Toiaivao |
3 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
8 |
3 |
6 |
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
|
Totals |
21 |
65 |
18 |
26 |
200 |
54 |
15 |
61 |
Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Hawaii 33, Kent State 30.
3-point goals -- Kent State 6-16 (Shearer 3-5, Burgess 2-7, James 1-1, Willoughby 0-1, Bennett 0-2), Hawaii 1-10 (Sanders 1-4, Tambini 0-1, Taylor 0-2, Solia 0-3). Personal fouls -- Kent State 22, Hawaii 17.
Steals -- Kent State 11 (James 2, Willoughby 2, Burgess 2, Stewart 2, Scull, Griffith, LaFleur), Hawaii 8 (Taylor 2, Tambini 2, Chretien 2, Solia, Toiaivao). Blocked shots -- Kent State 2 (Shearer 2), Hawaii 11 (Toiaivao 6, Grice 3, Solia, Smith). Turnovers -- Kent State 19 (James 5, Burgess 4, Willoughby 2, Vavrek 2, Griffith 2, Stewart 2, LaFleur, Scull), Hawaii 19 (Toiaivao 4, Grice 4, Sanders 3, Tambini 3, Chretien 3, Taylor, Solia). Officials -- Hermann, Hottendorf, Apo. A -- 794.