WAHINE BASKETBALL
Suspended Grice sits out as Wahine lose
By Bret H. McCormick
Special to the Star-Bulletin
RUSTON, La. » Louisiana Tech wrapped up the regular-season Western Athletic Conference championship last night with a 91-52 win over Hawaii.
The Rainbow Wahine (18-9, 9-7), playing without junior center Brittany Grice, who was suspended for violating team rules, struggled in nearly every phase of the game, head coach Jim Bolla said.
LaTech outrebounded UH 53-39, forced 33 turnovers and held the Wahine to just 33.9 percent shooting, including 5-for-20 from 3-point range.
The Lady Techsters used a 14-4 run early in the game to open up a 20-8 lead before a 9-0 run pushed the lead to 30-13. LaTech led 47-23 at the half.
"They had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half and 13 layups," Bolla said. "We are typically a good rebounding team. We didn't have (Grice), but that didn't make the difference. ... They put us away early. They were too athletic for us. That really was the bottom line."
Bolla said LaTech's players had quick hands on defense, and the Rainbow Wahine played into the Techsters' hands by passing up open shots to put the ball on the floor.
Senior Aarica Ray-Boyd, one of three Lady Techsters playing in their final home game at the Thomas Assembly Center, led Tech (23-4, 15-1 WAC) with 25 points, including five 3-pointers.
Tasha Williams, a senior point guard and reigning WAC Player of the Year, recorded LTU's third triple-double in school history with 10 points, 11 assists and 10 steals.
"It really was an enjoyable game for me because we played so well, we played so hard and those seniors had great nights," LaTech head coach Chris Long said.
LTU won the first meeting between the two teams, 71-66 in overtime on Jan. 12. However, Bolla said LaTech was greatly improved from that first meeting.
"They were a completely different team than when they came to see us," Bolla said. "It's hard to adjust because we played them in the second conference game and then in the last. We couldn't get any continuity with how much better they were."
Tanya Smith, making her first start of the season in place of Grice, scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace the Rainbow Wahine. Amy Sanders also added 10 points for UH, but struggled on just 4-for-14 shooting from the field.
Sanders attributed the Rainbow Wahine's poor play to their lackluster effort on the defensive end of the floor.
"Our defense was so poor that we got so frustrated that we couldn't stop them from scoring," Sanders said. "We had one-shot possessions, and they would go down and score. It was hard to stay up."
Long said he was surprised his team was able to handle UH so easily.
"I thought we played exceptionally well on both ends of the floor, particularly on defense," Long said. "That's where this team has really become good. Hawaii has a good team. We defended them so hard early that they got frustrated. We pushed the basketball on the break as well as we have all year."
The victory gave LaTech its fifth straight WAC title, as the Techsters have either shared or won it outright every year they have competed in the conference.
Despite the loss, UH had locked up the third seed in the WAC Tournament before it stepped onto the floor when Nevada lost to Fresno State earlier in the day.
Bolla said his team had a couple of issues to resolve before entering the tournament, particularly whether Grice will be eligible to play, but the loss to the Lady Techsters does nothing to hinder the Rainbow Wahine's chance at winning the tourney and gaining an automatic berth in the NCAA tourney.
"Everybody is 0-0 going into this tournament," Bolla said. "It's a one-game series now. This loss is not the end of the world. We did some things OK. We have some things that we need to work on, but that was a very good team. They are deservingly the WAC champions."
UH returns to action at noon Pacific time on Wednesday in the first round of the WAC tournament. The Rainbow Wahine will play Boise State (14-14, 6-10).
WAC Standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Louisiana Tech |
15 |
1 |
.938 |
-- |
23 |
4
|
Fresno State |
14 |
2 |
.875 |
1 |
22 |
6
|
Hawaii |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
6 |
18 |
9
|
Nevada |
8 |
8 |
.500 |
7 |
12 |
16
|
San Jose State |
8 |
8 |
.500 |
7 |
13 |
14
|
Boise State |
6 |
10 |
.375 |
9 |
14 |
14
|
New Mexico State |
5 |
11 |
.313 |
10 |
8 |
19
|
Idaho |
5 |
11 |
.313 |
10 |
9 |
18
|
Utah State |
2 |
14 |
.125 |
12 |
3 |
23 |
Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 91, Hawaii 52
Fresno St. 73, Nevada 48
San Jose St. 70, Utah St. 49
Louisiana Tech 91, Hawaii 52
Rainbow Wahine (18-9, 9-7 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Smith |
4 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
27 |
8 |
0 |
11
|
Taylor |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
4 |
2 |
3
|
Kotani |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Sanders |
4 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
1 |
2 |
10
|
Tambini |
0 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
8 |
0 |
1
|
Solia |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
5
|
Cariaga |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
4
|
Chretien |
1 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
24 |
3 |
3 |
4
|
Helmly |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
Spooner |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
3 |
1 |
5
|
Aiwohi |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
5
|
Lee |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
2 |
0 |
2
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
9
|
Totals |
19 |
56 |
9 |
17 |
200 |
40 |
11 |
52 |
Lady Techsters (23-4, 15-1 WAC)
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
T. Moore |
5 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
24 |
13 |
2 |
13
|
DeCiman |
6 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
6 |
1 |
12
|
Williams |
4 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
32 |
4 |
11 |
10
|
Ray-Boyd |
9 |
20 |
2 |
4 |
35 |
6 |
2 |
25
|
S. Moore |
3 |
9 |
3 |
5 |
26 |
2 |
7 |
9
|
Metoyer |
4 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
20 |
6 |
0 |
9
|
Levingston |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Mangum |
0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
Thomas |
2 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
11 |
2 |
0 |
5
|
Kursh |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
5 |
0 |
6
|
Lawson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
|
Totals |
36 |
80 |
14 |
21 |
200 |
52 |
23 |
91 |
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 -- Louisiana Tech 47, Hawaii 23
3-point goals -- Hawaii 5-20 (Sanders 2-7, Aiwohi 1-1, Solia 1-3, Taylor 1-6, Tambini 0-2, Chretien 0-1), LaTech 5-21 (Ray-Boyd 5-13, Levingston 0-1, Williams 0-2, Thomas 0-2, Mangum 0-3). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 22, LaTech 15.
Steals -- Hawaii 5 (Solia, Cariaga, Chretien, Aiwohi, Lee), LaTech 18 (Williams 10, Metoyer 3, T. Moore 2, Ray-Boyd 2, Kursh). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 1 (Smith), LaTech 0. Turnovers -- Hawaii 33 (Chretien 5, Lee 5, Taylor 4, Sanders 4, Tambini 4, Spooner 3, Smith 2, Kotani, Solia, Cariaga, Helmly, TEAM 2), LaTech 17 (Ray-Boyd 6, T. Moore 4, Williams 2, Metoyer 2, Kursh 2, Mangum). Officials -- Timmons, Adams, Van Nest. A -- 3,075.