WAHINE BASKETBALL
Fresno hands Hawaii fifth straight loss
FRESNO, Calif. » The Hawaii women's basketball team did not get a win yesterday, but maybe, just maybe, the effort after halftime will carry over to this week's homestand.
The Rainbow Wahine battled back from an 11-point deficit to force overtime but fell short in the extra period, losing to Fresno State 75-69 in a Western Athletic Conference game at the Save Mart Center.
It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Wahine (6-10, 0-4 WAC). The Bulldogs, picked to finish second in two preseason polls, improved to 10-7 and 3-1.
"This was a positive loss if you ever have one," said Hawaii coach Jim Bolla. "Maybe this is something that will get us going."
Hawaii hosts Idaho on Wednesday and Boise State on Saturday.
Trailing 34-23 at intermission, the Wahine eliminated their first-half turnover problems to battle back and force overtime on Iwona Zagrobelna's two free throws with 9 seconds left in regulation.
However, Fresno State outscored Hawaii 12-6 in overtime to pull out the win.
"I told the players I was proud of them for battling back. We had our chances in overtime," Bolla said.
Hawaii's Tanya Smith made two free throws to start the overtime period, but Chantella Perera's jumper tied the score and Erica Henry hit both ends of a one-and-one situation to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.
Pam Tambini's layup with 2:58 left cut the FSU lead to 69-67, but all UH managed the rest of the way was another layup by Tambini with 3 seconds left.
The Wahine opened the game with a 10-4 lead at 14:56 when Brittany Grice completed a 3-point play.
The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead, 14-12, at 12:02 on a 3-pointer by Tierre Wilson, a 5-foot-8 junior guard who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Her trey came in the middle of a 16-2 FSU run, and the Bulldogs continued to exploit UH turnovers (15 at the half) to outscore the Wahine 30-11 and go to the locker room with a 34-23 lead.
"The reason people go on runs is we come down and turn the ball over. We lose a chance to score. They go back and score and it is a 4-point swing," Bolla said.
The Wahine did a commendable job of holding onto the ball in the second half and they discovered their transition game that had been dormant recently. They slowly whittled the FSU lead down to single digits.
Hawaii tied it at 45-all on Zagrobelna's 3-pointer with 10:52 left.
The Bulldogs retook the lead on Jenny Thigpin's follow shot. Wilson's 3-point play, two free throws by Perera and a 10-foot jumper by Wilson increased the FSU lead to 54-46 with 6:06 left.
Hawaii answered with a 17-9 spurt, with Smith scoring six points and Janevia Taylor five leading up to Zagrobelna's clutch free throws.
The UH defense held the Bulldogs to a wild shot in the last 9 seconds, leaving the score tied at 63 heading into the 5-minute overtime period.
"We felt better in the second half. We cut down on the turnovers, went to the offensive boards, executed the offense and played good defense," Bolla said.
"We were pushing the ball up the court, especially with our big people, and they were tired. I don't know why because they had the easy game Thursday."
Smith led four Wahine in double figures with 19 points. Zagrobelna's 17 points is a career high.
Taylor scored 15 and Tambini 10. Smith, Tambini and Zagrobelna also had double-digit rebounds.
Perera led the Bulldogs with a career-high 28 points.
WAC standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Boise State |
4 |
0 |
1.000 |
-- |
13 |
4
|
Fresno State |
3 |
1 |
.750 |
1 |
10 |
6
|
Nevada |
3 |
1 |
.750 |
1 |
9 |
7
|
New Mexico State |
3 |
1 |
.750 |
1 |
8 |
8
|
Louisiana Tech |
2 |
1 |
.667 |
1 1/2 |
7 |
9
|
Utah State |
2 |
1 |
.667 |
1 1/2 |
6 |
9
|
Hawaii |
0 |
4 |
.000 |
4 |
6 |
10
|
Idaho |
0 |
4 |
.000 |
4 |
3 |
12
|
San Jose State |
0 |
4 |
.000 |
4 |
1 |
17 |
Yesterday
Fresno State 75, Hawaii 69 OT
Nevada 74, San Jose State 47
Boise State 68, Louisiana Tech 47
New Mexico State 70, Idaho 65
Tomorrow
Utah State at Louisiana Tech
Wednesday
Idaho at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Fresno State 75, Hawaii 69
Rainbow Wahine (6-10, 0-4 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Smith |
7 |
13 |
5 |
6 |
43 |
11 |
2 |
19
|
Tambini |
4 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
45 |
11 |
3 |
10
|
Zagrobelna |
6 |
14 |
4 |
6 |
33 |
12 |
1 |
17
|
Taylor |
6 |
18 |
3 |
4 |
33 |
2 |
2 |
15
|
Cariaga |
1 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
45 |
5 |
8 |
3
|
Kotani |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Chretien |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Lee |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Grice |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
5
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
7
|
Totals |
26 |
69 |
15 |
21 |
225 |
50 |
18 |
69 |
Bulldogs (10-7, 3-1 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Green |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
32 |
6 |
4 |
8
|
Thigpin |
2 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
24 |
4 |
0 |
7
|
Wilson |
7 |
16 |
5 |
8 |
45 |
10 |
4 |
20
|
Diggs |
2 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
29 |
3 |
3 |
6
|
Perera |
8 |
19 |
11 |
12 |
45 |
5 |
6 |
28
|
Roberson |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
1 |
0 |
2
|
Jones |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Henry |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
25 |
4 |
0 |
4
|
Hagemeister |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Walker-Roche |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
Totals |
24 |
63 |
25 |
30 |
225 |
37 |
17 |
75 |
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 -- Fresno St. 34, Hawaii 23
3-point goals -- Hawaii 2-15 (Cariaga 1-4, Zagrobelna 1-7, Taylor 0-1, Tambini 0-3), Fresno St. 2-12 (Perera 1-4, Wilson 1-5, Walker-Roche 0-1, Roberson 0-2). Personal fouls -- Hawaii 23, Fresno St. 18.
Steals -- Hawaii 9 (Smith 3, Cariaga 2, Kotani, Chretien, Tambini, Zagrobelna), Fresno St. 13 (Wilson 4, Perera 3, Henry 3, Roberson 2, Diggs). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 7 (Zagrobelna 3, Smith, Tambini, Cariaga, Grice), Fresno St. 3 (Wilson, Roberson, Henry). Turnovers -- Hawaii 24 (Cariaga 5, Smith 5, Tambini 3, Taylor 3, Kotani 3, Chretien 2, Zagrobelna 2, TEAM), Fresno St. 16 (Perera 4, Henry 3, Roberson 2, Green 2, Wilson 2, TEAM 2, Diggs).
Officials -- Kelly Copeland, Bill Jump, Eric Kutas. A--1,118.