Monday, November 29, 1999
Wahine’s win
By Al Chase
over Texas
is a big one
Star-BulletinWith an 11-day break in the schedule before their next game, the Hawaii women's basketball team can enjoy and reflect on winning the Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic championship yesterday.
The importance of defeating a very solid and talented Texas team (No. 31 in latest AP Poll), 78-74, may not register with the new Wahine immediately, but the veterans understand the magnitude of the victory.
"I think the newcomers can get a vibe from us. I think we can get it across," said Kylie Galloway.
"The returnees know about successes and disappointments from years past," Hawaii head coach Vince Goo said. "I can say 'Iowa State' and they know exactly what we're talking about."
The Wahine had the last shot and a chance to beat Iowa State in the championship game two years ago, but missed and lost, 64-62.
"Three years from now we're going to say 'Texas' and 'Arizona' and the freshmen and sophomores will know what we're talking about because they know what the feeling is (to win or lose big games)," Goo said.
The Arizona meeting also marks the game the 1999-2000 Wahine found out they could run their offense successfully.
Yesterday, against the Longhorns, Hawaii (4-2) wanted to score points inside and needed to knock down three pointers.
"We did that in the first half and I think that made us more difficult to defend. We were less predictable," Goo said.
Half of UH's 16 first half field goals came from close range. The Wahine, with Galloway hitting three, also sank 5-of-9 three pointers. The result was a 42-32 halftime lead.
Yet, it seemed just a matter of time before the Longhorns exploded. It happened early in the second half when they outscored UH, 15-2, in the first five minutes, 11 seconds to draw even at 47 all.
The Wahine rebuilt their lead to 12 points with 3:54 to play, but with Asha Hill hitting treys, Texas quickly cut the lead to three, 72-69 with 2:19 on the clock.
Neither team scored for a long minute (there were three 20-second time outs called). Then UH point guard Kyla Evers stepped to the foul line with 59 seconds left.
She missed both free throws.
Her reaction, "Oh my God, what did I just do. I babied them too much. I didn't want to over throw them because I had too much energy," she said.
However, on the second miss, she got her own rebound and was fouled again. This time she sank both attempts.
Sixteen seconds later, Evers sank two more free throws.
But, Hill knocked down another three pointer to leave UH clinging to a 76-74 lead.
The Wahine broke the press and Galloway was fouled. She made both free throws.
With 00.07 left, the Longhorns (3-2) got the ball to Hill for one more 3-point attempt and there wasn't a Wahine within fouling distance. The high arcing shot from the left side hit iron and bounded off.
Wahine assistant coach Jon Newlee broke into a big smile and pumped his fist repeatedly.
"I thought 'Oh man, here we go again.' They were so hot and I kept waiting for them to make that final shot," Newlee said. "When the buzzer went off I could finally breath again."
Galloway and Howard each scored 24 points for Hawaii. Classic MVP Edwina Brown led Texas with 25 points and shared game-high rebound honors with Howard at 10.
Virginia 85, Washington 64: The Cavaliers (2-2 overall, 2-1 tournament) won the third-place game as Schuye LaRue scored 21 points and Lisa Hosac had 19. LaRue was 9-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line. Megan Franza led the Huskies (2-4, 1-2) with 17.
Grambling State 74, Portland 60: Shrieka Evans hit eight 3 pointers and finished with 26 points to help the Lady Tigers (3-1, 2-1) place fifth. Nakesha Jewell grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 15 points. Sharon Rissmiller led the Pilots (3-3, 1-2) with 17 points.
Long Beach State 69, Virginia Commonwealth 63: Crystal Givens broke a 28-28 tie with 2:20 to go in the first half and the 49ers (2-2, 1-2) never trailed again in the seventh-place game. Kesha Wade's 26 points paced the Beach. Rochelle Luckett led the Rams (1-4, 0-3) with 17 points.
Hawaii 87, Texas 74 Rainbow Wahine Classic
Longhorns (3-2 overall, 2-1 tournament)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Sare 1 5 0 0 12 0 1 3 M. Brown 0 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 Dillard 0 2 0 0 9 0 1 0 Woods 4 10 3 4 27 2 0 11 Cook 4 9 1 2 34 8 0 9 E. Brown 10 19 5 8 38 10 8 25 Cullen 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Hill 6 14 0 0 28 2 2 16 Littleton 2 4 0 0 8 6 0 4 Godfrey 2 4 0 0 16 2 0 4 Johnson 1 3 0 0 12 4 0 2 Ryan 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 Team 0 Totals 30 72 9 14 200 35 12 74Wahine (4-2, 3-0)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Galloway 9 17 2 2 40 6 1 24 Kohler 1 2 0 0 13 1 0 2 Roper 1 4 0 0 13 5 1 2 Liu 4 7 0 0 31 3 1 8 Evers 1 6 5 8 40 6 11 7 Greeny 0 0 0 0 0+ 0 0 0 Howard 8 15 7 8 40 10 3 24 Puida 3 6 3 4 23 4 0 11 Team 4 Totals 27 57 17 22 200 39 17 78Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.Halftime score-Hawaii 42, Texas 32.
3-point goals-Texas (5-12) Hill 4-8, Sare 1-4. UH (7-14) Howard 1-1, Puida 2-3, Galloway 4-8, Evers 0-2. Personal fouls-Texas 19, UH 11. Fouled out-None. Steals-Texas 8 (E. Brown 4), UH 3 (Howard 2). Blocked shots-Texas 2 (Hill, Johnson), UH 2 (Roper 2). Turnovers-Texas 7 (E. Brown 2)), UH 13 (Galloway 5). Technicals-None. Officials--Fujimoto, Stevens, Lewis,. A-1,106.
