WAHINE BASKETBALL
Tech dominates UH
The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine disintegrated at both ends of the basketball court last night.
Louisiana Tech fell behind early, but started a comeback with 7 minutes left in the first half that carried the Lady Techsters to a 64-53 Western Athletic Conference victory at the Stan Sheriff Center before a crowd of 428.
This is the third consecutive game Hawaii has been woeful in the second half. It wasn't until 5:21 remained that the Wahine gave the fans anything to cheer about after halftime.
The final score doesn't indicate how thoroughly the Lady Techsters (7-8 overall, 2-0 WAC), who built a 21-point lead (57-36) with 7:27 to go, dominated the second half. They scored on easy layups, short-range jumpers and second chances.
"We don't have a killer instinct. This has happened five or six times this year," UH coach Jim Bolla said.
The Wahine (6-8, 0-2) connected on just three of 19 field-goal attempts in the first 14 minutes of the half and had seven turnovers after committing just four in the first half.
"I think we picked up our defensive intensity toward the end of the first half and it carried over in the second half," LaTech coach Chris Long said. "I felt we pushed the basketball in transition better in the second half and that got us to the free-throw line and we got the ball to the block."
The first half was low-scoring, as both teams struggled for several minutes at a time on offense. UH shot just 33 percent from the field, while LaTech hit 35 percent of its field-goal attempts.
The Wahine went ahead 6-2 on a 14-foot jumper by Cassidy Chretien and two jumpers by Tanya Smith, one in the lane, one off the left baseline.
Shan Moore's 3-pointer cut the lead to 6-5, but the Wahine, playing almost turnover-free offense, outscored the Lady Techsters 15-5 over the next 8 minutes for a 21-10 lead.
During the span, Hawaii put a 9-0 run on the board started by Pam Tambini's putback. Brittany Grice followed with a layup and Tambini sank the only UH 3-pointer of the half. Saundra Cariaga finished the spurt with a fast-break layup off a long pass from Chretien.
With 7:14 left before intermission, Tambini converted two free throws for a 23-15 Wahine lead.
"Hawaii is long and big and they alter your shots. It took us time to adjust to that," Long said.
However, the Wahine were successful on just one of their eight field-goal attempts the rest of the half.
LaTech would make five of its last 14 shots to cut the UH lead to 27-24 at the half. Sierra Nixon led the Lady Techsters' surge with two jumpers that swished from the left baseline.
"We lost momentum and then our first play (of the second half) was a turnover and that killed us. They scored and got up and stayed up. That's what we should have done in the first half when we had a nine-point lead," Tambini said.
The Lady Techsters, who finished the first half by outscoring UH 12-6, continued to roll with a 17-5 start to the second 20 minutes that led to a 41-32 lead with 13:01 on the clock. During those first 7 minutes, LaTech enjoyed a 13-0 run, with Ty Moore scoring six points and JoKeirra Sneed four.
The Lady Techsters didn't let up, outscoring the Wahine 16-4 to create the 21-point lead with 7:27 to play.
"In the first half we got high-percentage shots in the post and we didn't get that in the second half," Tambini said.
A 13-2 run with Amber Lee and Smith hitting two field goals, Megan Tinnin collecting a trey and Dita Liepkalne sinking a 16-foot jumper from the right corner cut the LaTech lead to 10 points 1:44 remaining.
The Lady Techsters protected that lead by making their free throws.
Louisiana Tech 64, Hawaii 53
Lady Techsters (7-8, 2-0 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Metoyer |
0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
33 |
7 |
5 |
2
|
Moore |
7 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
32 |
10 |
1 |
15
|
Kursh |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
2 |
2 |
0
|
Moore |
3 |
9 |
4 |
6 |
26 |
4 |
0 |
11
|
Mangum |
1 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
19 |
4 |
1 |
7
|
Levingston |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
3
|
Sneed |
4 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
26 |
4 |
0 |
11
|
Nixon |
5 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
3 |
1 |
11
|
Dowdell |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
4
|
Williams |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Totals |
23 |
54 |
16 |
26 |
200 |
41 |
10 |
64 |
Rainbow Wahine (6-8, 0-2 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Smith |
6 |
11 |
2 |
5 |
34 |
8 |
2 |
14
|
Tambini |
2 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
27 |
5 |
2 |
9
|
Taylor |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
28 |
6 |
1 |
4
|
Cariaga |
2 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
32 |
3 |
2 |
4
|
Chretien |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
1 |
4 |
2
|
Tinnin |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3
|
Kotani |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Solia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Liepkalne |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
5
|
Lee |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
4
|
Grice |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
4
|
Zagrobelna |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
5 |
0 |
4
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
Totals |
21 |
66 |
8 |
11 |
200 |
40 |
14 |
53 |
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 27, LaTech 24
3-point goals -- LaTech 2-8 (Levingston 1-2, S. Moore 1-4, Metoyer 0-1, Mangum 0-1), Hawaii 3-11 (Liepkalne 1-1, Tinnin 1-2, Tambini 1-2, Chretien 0-1, Zagrobelna 0-1, Cariaga 0-2, Kotani 0-2). Personal fouls -- LaTech 15, Hawaii 19. Fouled out -- None.
Steals -- LaTech 8 (Sneed 3, Dowdell 2, Metoyer, Kursh, S. Moore), Hawaii 7 (Smith 3, Chretien, Tinnin, Liepkalne, Lee). Blocked shots -- LaTech 4 (Sneed 2, T. Moore, Kursh), Hawaii 1 (Zagrobelna). Turnovers -- LaTech 14 (Nixon 3, Metoyer 2, T. Moore 2, TEAM 2, S. Moore, Mangum, Levingston, Sneed, Williams), Hawaii 13 (Smith 2, Taylor 2, Cariaga 2, Chretien 2, Zagrobelna 2, Grice, Tinnin, Tambini). Officials -- Eric Larson, Penny Davis, Kyle Bacon. A--428.
WAC Standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
New Mexico State |
2 |
0 |
1.000 |
-- |
7 |
7
|
Louisiana Tech |
2 |
0 |
1.000 |
-- |
7 |
8
|
Boise State |
1 |
0 |
1.000 |
1/2 |
10 |
4
|
Nevada |
1 |
0 |
1.000 |
1/2 |
7 |
6
|
Fresno State |
1 |
1 |
.500 |
1 |
8 |
6
|
Utah State |
1 |
1 |
.500 |
1 |
5 |
9
|
Hawaii |
0 |
2 |
.000 |
2 |
6 |
8
|
Idaho |
0 |
2 |
.000 |
2 |
3 |
10
|
San Jose State |
0 |
2 |
.000 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 64, Hawaii 53
Nevada 78, Idaho 68
New Mexico State 59, San Jose State 48
Utah State 81, Fresno State 75, OT
Monday
Nevada at Boise State
Thursday
Hawaii at Nevada
San Jose State at Fresno State
Idaho at Utah State
Boise State at New Mexico State