WAHINE BASKETBALL
Wahine hold off Wolf Pack
The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, at times in spite of themselves, finally have won consecutive Western Athletic Conference basketball games.
Enjoying just a tad more luck in the final seconds than the UH men did in Reno yesterday, the Wahine escaped with a 74-72 victory over Nevada at the Stan Sheriff Center last night.
The Wahine (9-12 overall, 3-6 WAC) overcame 29 turnovers and poor shooting (12-for-23) from the foul line to hand the Wolf Pack (12-10, 6-3) their second consecutive conference loss.
Pam Tambini led UH with 19 points and Tanya Smith had her fifth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Brittany Grice added 10 points and eight rebounds.
"It was a hard-fought game, a good win for us. We have to keep playing this way, diving for balls, getting physical with people," said UH coach Jim Bolla.
The Wahine almost saw an 11-point lead (68-57) following a 3-pointer by Janevia Taylor evaporate in the last 3:42.
A jumper by Nevada's Bre'Anna Henry and four consecutive free throws by Dellena Criner cut the UH lead to 69-63 with 2:03 to play.
A steal by Henry and one by Traci Graham that resulted in easy layups pulled Nevada closer (69-67).
Smith's layup at 1:10 was a relief for Bolla, but Graham nailed a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, leaving UH with a one-point lead.
Hawaii went to the free-throw line three times in the final 28 seconds. Taylor and then Smith managed just one of two shots each time.
Criner had a chance to tie the score with 11 seconds left by completing a three-point play, but missed the foul shot. After Smith made one of two free throws, Henry's 3-point attempt from the left side hit the front of the rim and Smith rebounded.
"I try at least to make one free throw. If I make the first one, then I can relax a bit for the second one. I was perfect from the field (6-for-6)," Smith said. "It was a really good team effort tonight. The guards distributed the ball well."
When the Wahine held on to the ball, they ran their offense successfully, shooting 63 percent from the floor.
"At the half I put 62.5 on the board and said that is what we are shooting (from the field)," Bolla said. "I told the players Nevada wasn't beating us. We were beating ourselves with too many turnovers. We did a better job in the second half in beating their press. We wanted to make them pay by attacking it."
Smith added, "In the second half we were more patient and looked for better opportunities (on offense)."
Both teams used a press to start the game. The Wolf Pack did a little better job getting the ball into the frontcourt and connected on four of their first eight field-goal attempts.
The Wahine managed more turnovers (four) than shots (three) in the opening 4 minutes and fell behind 9-3 at the 15:58 mark. Nevada took advantage of three more UH mistakes, two that resulted in fast-break layups, to lead 17-12 with 11:44 left in the half.
The Wahine took care of the ball for the next 4 minutes and turned up the defensive pressure to outscore the Wolf Pack 12-2 for a 24-19 lead at the third media timeout at 7:43. UH was 6-for-7 from the field during that stretch.
Tambini and Smith each had two field goals to lead the UH spurt with Cassidy Chretien and Grice scoring on a layup and an 8-foot jumper from the left side, respectively.
The Wolf Pack, who lost the lead by missing seven consecutive shots from the floor, slowly closed the gap. Criner sparked Nevada with seven points and Brandi Harris' jumper in the lane brought UN to within a point (33-32) with 2:01 before the break.
After a Smith free throw, Henry tied the score at 34-34 with 1:17 left and Jessica Preslar's free throw with 23 seconds on the clock gave Nevada a 35-34 halftime lead.
Bolla to take time off: Bolla will take a leave of absence to recover from a medical procedure, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
"This is something that came up unexpectedly and, on the advice of doctors, I'm choosing to take care of it immediately," said Bolla in a news release from the university.
Associate coach Pat Charity will serve as interim head coach.
Hawaii 74, Nevada 72
Wolf Pack (12-10, 6-3 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Sitton |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
31 |
1 |
0 |
2
|
Lombardi |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
22 |
10 |
0 |
9
|
Fitzgerald |
4 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
20 |
3 |
1 |
10
|
Graham |
6 |
15 |
1 |
2 |
31 |
2 |
1 |
15
|
Criner |
2 |
12 |
11 |
13 |
33 |
1 |
7 |
16
|
Henry |
3 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
20 |
4 |
0 |
6
|
Price |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Harris |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
Preslar |
2 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
Hammond |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
Totals |
24 |
59 |
20 |
27 |
200 |
29 |
9 |
72 |
Rainbow Wahine (9-12, 3-6 WAC)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Smith |
6 |
6 |
5 |
10 |
35 |
10 |
3 |
17
|
Tambini |
7 |
12 |
3 |
4 |
37 |
0 |
2 |
19
|
Grice |
5 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
8 |
4 |
10
|
Tinnin |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Kotani |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
2 |
1 |
5
|
Taylor |
3 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
25 |
2 |
1 |
5
|
Cariaga |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Chretien |
3 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
26 |
5 |
3 |
9
|
Liepkalne |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Lee |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
1 |
0 |
4
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
Totals |
29 |
46 |
12 |
23 |
200 |
32 |
20 |
74 |
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 -- Nevada 35, Hawaii 34
3-point goals -- Nevada 4-13 (Graham 2-4, Fitzgerald 1-2, Criner 1-4, Henry 0-1, Price 0-1, Harris 0-1), Hawaii 4-8 (Tambini 2-4, Kotani 1-1, Taylor 1-1, Tinnin 0-1, Liepkalne 0-1). Personal fouls -- Nevada 24, Hawaii 25.
Steals -- Nevada 14 (Graham 5, Sitton 3, Fitzgerald 3, Lombardi, Henry, Preslar), Hawaii 4 (Taylor 2, Grice, Kotani). Blocked shots -- Nevada 0, Hawaii 8 (Grice 4, Smith, Tinnen, Kotani, Chretien). Turnovers -- Nevada 19 (Lombardi 3, Fitzgerald 3, Graham 3, Criner 3, Price 3, Preslar 2, Sitton, Henry), Hawaii 29 (Tambini 9, Kotani 5, Tinnin 4, Grice 4, Chretien 4, Smith 2, Taylor, Lee).
Officials -- Rick Morris, Brian Yamasaki, Laura Rahe. A -- 318.
WAC Standings
|
WAC |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Boise State |
7 |
1 |
.875 |
-- |
16 |
5
|
Louisiana Tech |
7 |
2 |
.777 |
1/2 |
12 |
10
|
Nevada |
6 |
3 |
.667 |
2 |
12 |
9
|
Fresno State |
5 |
3 |
.625 |
2 |
12 |
8
|
New Mexico State |
4 |
3 |
.571 |
2 1/2 |
9 |
10
|
Utah State |
3 |
5 |
.375 |
4 |
7 |
13
|
Hawaii |
3 |
6 |
.333 |
4 1/2 |
9 |
12
|
Idaho |
2 |
8 |
.200 |
6 |
5 |
16
|
San Jose State |
2 |
8 |
.200 |
6 |
3 |
21 |
Yesterday
Hawaii 74, Nevada 72
Louisiana Tech 79, Boise State 63
Fresno State 75, Idaho 53
San Jose State 65, Utah State 57