Trojans trounce Rainbow Wahine in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES » The Women of Troy suffered one upset at the hands of a Hawaii team this weekend and that was enough.

The universities' basketball teams played yesterday and Southern California broke open a close game midway through the first half en route to a nonconference 72-52 win over the Rainbow Wahine.

"We didn't take good shots, forced shots and just didn't make good decisions. We can't make those kinds of mistakes against a team like this," said Hawaii coach Jim Bolla.

Nursing a 21-20 lead following Tanya Smith's free throw just before the 11:39 media timeout, the Women of Troy scored eight unanswered points for a 29-20 advantage.

Brittany Grice's layup and a 3-pointer by Janevia Taylor cut the USC lead to four points with 8:40 left before the half.

Neither team's offense produced much the remainder of the half, although the Women of Troy (4-4) managed to outscore UH (4-4) 9-5 for a 38-30 lead after 20 minutes.

USC went to a 1-3-1 zone halfway through the first half and the Wahine did not attack it the way Bolla expected.

"We could come down and match up with them, stand right with them," Bolla said. "You have to get in the gaps or get behind them. They don't have to work to defend you when you continue to do that.

"I told them at the half they had 4 minutes to get four points off the lead."

However, Hawaii's offense stumbled even more in the second half, scoring only four field goals in the first 13 minutes. The Women of Troy took advantage of the opportunity to build a 60-40 lead with a number of easy baskets while denying the Wahine second chances at the other end.

"We didn't rebound at all. They dominated us on the boards. We got one shot and that was it," Bolla said.

Bolla became so disenchanted with the performance of the starting five that he substituted five players at one point early in the second half.

The reserves played well for a time. Bolla, thinking the starters had been able to learn something sitting on the bench, made another five-for-five switch. But, it wasn't long before the reserves were back on the court to finish the game.

"When I felt the game was out of reach, you might as well let the second group play and get some experience," Bolla said.

One of them, Iwona Zagrobelna, was the lone Wahine in double figures with 11 points. She also had six rebounds in 17 minutes of action to tie Grice for the team lead.

For the third consecutive game and sixth time this season, Eshaya Murphy was USC's top scorer with 19 points.

The Wahine were 18-for-65 from the field for a season-low .277 shooting percentage. They attempted a season-high 31 shots from beyond the arc, but connected on only nine.

Hawaii's next games are Friday and Saturday in the Paradise Classic. UH opens against Evansville on Friday at 7 p.m.