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Friday, March 2, 2001
Wahine turn The offense wasn't designed that way, but it was fitting on "Senior Night" that the University of Hawaii's top three scorers were the three seniors being honored.
back UTEP, WAC
tourney next
Senior trio lead the way
By Al Chase
Star-BulletinKylie Galloway led the scoring parade with 26 points in the Wahine's 77-56 victory over Texas-El Paso in the Western Athletic Conference regular season finale for both teams. Crystal Lee contributed 19 and Dainora Puida scored 13.
The 1,549 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center showed their appreciation numerous times. It was the largest crowd of the season to watch the Wahine, who improved to 21-6 overall.
Hawaii leaves Monday for the Williams WAC Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., and will play the host team Wednesday in the quarterfinal round.
The Miners kept the game close in the first half. Buckets by Nicki Mosher and Amy Park in the final two minutes cut UH's lead to 28-26 at intermission.
"All we talked about at halftime was defense," said Wahine assistant coach Serenda Valdez. "We reminded the players the Miners outscored us in the second half at their place."
UH assistant coach Jon Newlee said, "In the first half we thought we could turn it on when we wanted to. UTEP is scrappy. You can't just show up and hope to win."
The Wahine grabbed the lead for good at the 16:38 mark of the second half on Lee's layup. Over the next eight minutes they would expand the margin to 15 points.
Lee followed with two free throws and a 3-pointer. April Atuaia and Galloway completed three-point plays. Three more layups by Lee, one by Atuaia and a 3-pointer by Puida put the Wahine up 55-40 with 8:42 remaining."We picked up the intensity a little bit in the second half," UH head coach Vince Goo said.
"We wanted to run on them, but we knew that would come off the defensive end."
Hawaii eventually upped the lead to 25 points when Lee sank two free throws with 1:19 left, her final points before the home fans.
Jana Gabrielova's two free throws with 17 seconds left completed a 16-for-16 night at the charity stripe for UH.
Senior Notes:
Lee will graduate in December. She is a speech major and hasn't given much thought to what she will do in the future.In two theater-class mini-productions she played an elephant and a rat.
"I have a singing class and it's pretty amusing because I'm in there with people who are voice majors and my voice should stay in the shower," Lee said.
"But, the teacher challenged me and asked if I was going to drop out and I said 'no.' "
Puida, a liberal studies major with an emphasis on physical education, plans to teach and coach some day. She and husband Nerijus will graduate in May 2002.
"We may try to stay in the United States. We're going back to Lithuania this summer and we will look into the possibility of playing pro basketball after we graduate," she said.
Galloway, who graduates in May with a degree in biology, plans to return to Australia for the first time in six years. Her husband Erin has a good chance to play professional basketball near her home in Melbourne.
"Erin's deal looks promising. If it works out, then I know I can play pro ball there," Galloway said.
"I'd like to coach some day. I've talked with Vince (Goo) about being a graduate assistant here.
"I know we'll be back. I'd like to live in Hawaii. It's a nice environment for Kyrin (her son) to grow up in."
Hawaii 77, Texas-El Paso 56
Miners (8-19, 4-12 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Pack 4 13 5 6 34 8 5 13 Touten 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 0 Mata 4 8 2 2 35 6 3 12 Pyle 2 11 0 0 32 8 1 4 Guild 0 1 0 0 14 0 0 0 Gray 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 Abbruzzese 2 6 0 0 17 4 0 5 Chavez 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Walker 5 9 0 0 26 4 1 10 Mosher 4 9 4 6 22 2 0 12 Team 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 21 57 11 14 200 36 10 56
Wahine (21-6, 12-4 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Galloway 10 14 5 5 38 5 4 26 Gabrielova 0 3 2 2 27 2 3 2 Roper 1 3 0 0 11 1 2 2 Brossman 2 5 0 0 12 1 1 5 Gabriel 1 1 0 0 7 0 1 3 Lee 7 10 4 4 36 7 4 19 Puida 4 11 4 4 21 5 2 13 Atuaia 2 3 1 1 25 3 2 5 Allen 1 3 0 0 10 2 0 2 Greeny 0 1 0 0 13 3 1 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 28 54 16 16 200 29 20 77 Key--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 28, Texas-El Paso 26.
3-point goals-UTEP 3-11 (Mata 2-3, Abbruzzese 1-3, Pack 0-1, Pyle 0-4), UH 5-14, (Gabriel 1-1, Brossman 1-2, Puida 1-2, Lee 1-3, Galloway 1-3, Atuaia 0-1, Gabrielova 0-2). Personal fouls-UTEP 18, UH 14. Fouled out-Mata. Steals-UTEP 7 (Pack 3), UH 5 (Atuaia, Lee 2). Blocked shots-UTEP 2 (Mata, Pyle), UH 6 (Roper 5). Turnovers-UTEP 21 (Mata 7), UH 16 (Atuaia 4). Technicals-None. Officials-Garrett, Yamasaki, Moreno. A-1,549.
UH Athletics
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