WAHINE BASKETBALL
Wahine break 4-game skid
Hawaii battled through a sluggish start to end its four-game losing streak in a 61-48 win over Utah State in a Western Athletic Conference women's basketball game last night.
The Rainbow Wahine (11-6, 2-4) used a modest spurt to start the second half against the scrappy Aggies and eventually took the advantage into double figures. But the Wahine didn't feel comfortable until going 3-for-6 at the free-throw line in the final minute when Utah State (1-15, 0-6) was forced to foul.
The win, in front of 329 spectators at the Stan Sheriff Center, was the 500th for the program since UH started women's basketball in the 1974-75 season.
Janevia Taylor led all scorers with 21 points, a single-game season high for a Wahine. She had the hot hand in the first half, going 5-for-6 from the field, and finished 8-for-11. The 5-foot-5 shooting guard also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, six at the offensive end and seven at the defensive end.
"I felt really good. The shots were falling and it was within our offense," Taylor said. "I've been struggling for a while and I guess things turned tonight.
"We ran our offense better to see what options they were going to give us. After a while, we saw what we could do. We saw the high-lows, the weak side, the person open for the 3 and the back doors."
The teams suffered through 8 minutes of frustration caused by turnovers (six for UH, five for USU) and missed shots that left the Wahine leading by the low score of 6-5 with 11:53 to play in the first half.
"We were trying to use all the options, but we just weren't clicking early on," Hawaii point guard Amy Kotani said.
Brittany Grice then scored six consecutive points on layups as UH had momentary success with the inside game.
"We missed a couple layups early, threw the ball away on plays we wanted to run," UH coach Jim Bolla said. "Brittany (Grice) got frustrated, so we took her out, settled her down and when she came back, she got us going."
A bucket by Dalia Solia and a trey and 2-pointer by Taylor offset three consecutive baskets by the Aggies' Jenny Gross that left UH ahead 19-11 at the 6:30 media break.
"Once they went to their zone, I thought we did a good job of picking it apart," Bolla said. "We made a couple jumpers, hit layups and spread them out."
The Aggies then went on an 11-2 run fueled by two 3-pointers from Ashley Rutledge and a pair of layups by Camille Brox to take a brief 22-21 lead with 2:42 before intermission.
The lead lasted just 18 seconds. Grice and Taylor each made two baskets, countering two by Gross, to give the Wahine a 29-26 lead at halftime.
Hawaii built a nine-point lead in the first 6 minutes of the second half. Taylor and Amy Sanders, who missed all five first-half shots, each hit two shots, and Callie Spooner and Kotani hit one apiece for a 43-34 UH lead.
A layup by Sanders with 11:23 remaining gave UH its first 10-point (47-37) lead.
The Aggies cut the deficit to eight points twice, but a Taylor rebound and 5-foot jumper in traffic put UH up 57-46 with 2:35 remaining.
"They have nothing to lose; they are in last place," Bolla said. "If you don't get on them early and get a cushion, you get into trouble against a team like this.
"We had 24 baskets and 19 assists. That's a nice thing, but I didn't feel comfortable until Dalia grabbed that rebound with 54 seconds left."
Grice finished with 18 points in just 22 minutes.
The Wahine host Nevada tomorrow night at 7.
Hawaii 61, Utah State 48
Aggies (1-15, 0-6 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Richards |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
1 |
4 |
4
|
Gross |
4 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
27 |
7 |
0 |
12
|
Brox |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
37 |
2 |
3 |
7
|
Freeze |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
1 |
0 |
5
|
Freeman |
1 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
27 |
4 |
2 |
7
|
Rutledge |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
4 |
0 |
6
|
Snelgro |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
3 |
0 |
3
|
Tressler |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
Marchant |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
5 |
1 |
2
|
Hagen |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
0 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
Totals |
15 |
51 |
14 |
16 |
200 |
31 |
10 |
48 |
Rainbow Wahine (11-6, 2-4 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Taylor |
8 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
40 |
13 |
4 |
21
|
Kotani |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
32 |
1 |
3 |
4
|
Sanders |
3 |
11 |
0 |
2 |
40 |
8 |
7 |
6
|
Spooner |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
3 |
0 |
2
|
Grice |
7 |
16 |
4 |
5 |
22 |
4 |
0 |
18
|
Solia |
1 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
21 |
2 |
2 |
4
|
Chretien |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Smith |
3 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
6 |
2 |
6
|
Lee |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
Totals |
24 |
60 |
12 |
17 |
200 |
43 |
19 |
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 29, Utah State 26.
3-point goals -- USU 4-17 (Rutledge 2-3, Snelgro 1-2, Freeze 1-4, Brox 0-1, Tressler 0-1, Richards 0-3, Hagen 0-3), Hawaii 1-8 (Taylor 1-1, Solia 0-1, Kotani 0-2, Sanders 0-4). Personal fouls -- USU 17, Hawaii 15. Fouled out--Grice.
Steals -- USU 4 (Marchant, Freeman, Richards, Brox), Hawaii 10 (Taylor 3, Kotani 3, Sanders 2, Grice, Solia). Blocked shots -- USU 3 (Freeze, Freeman, Snelgro), Hawaii 4 (Grice 3, Smith). Turnovers -- USU 17 (Freeman 5, Freeze 3, Brox 3, Gross 2, Richards 2, Snelgro, Marchant), Hawaii 14 (Sanders 5, Kotani 3, Grice 3, Spooner, Smith, team). Officials -- Krzesnik, Jump, Nakasone. A -- 829.
WAC standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Fresno State |
6 |
0 |
1.000 |
-- |
14 |
4
|
Louisiana Tech |
5 |
1 |
.833 |
1 |
13 |
4
|
San Jose State |
4 |
1 |
.800 |
1 1/2 |
9 |
7
|
Idaho |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
3 |
7 |
10
|
Boise State |
3 |
4 |
.429 |
3 1/2 |
11 |
8
|
Hawaii |
2 |
4 |
.333 |
4 |
11 |
6
|
Nevada |
2 |
4 |
.333 |
4 |
6 |
12
|
New Mexico State |
2 |
4 |
.333 |
4 |
5 |
12
|
Utah State |
0 |
6 |
.000 |
6 |
1 |
15 |
Yesterday
Nevada 73, Boise St. 69
Fresno St. 77, New Mexico St. 61
Louisiana Tech 74, San Jose St. 51
Hawaii 61, Utah St. 48
Tomorrow
Nevada at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
Idaho at Boise State
Fresno State at Louisiana Tech
San Jose State at New Mexico State