Friday, March 16, 2001
Wahine romp Putting a week of disappointment and distractions behind them, the University of Hawaii women's basketball team focused on what was most important last night -- winning.
past Broncos
Hawaii moves on to next
round of WNIT with
a 73-57 winBy Al Chase
Star-Bulletin"Today, we wanted to prove we could play without her," said junior point guard Jana Gabrielova, referring to Kylie Galloway, who quit the team earlier this week.
"We were so ready for this game. We had so many fans we didn't want to bring shame on ourselves."
The cohesiveness may have escaped the Wahine at times, but there was no lack of hustle, desire or taking advantage of opportunities to build an early lead they never surrendered.
Hawaii (24-7) placed four players in double figures to defeat Santa Clara University, 73-57, before 2,428 fans at the Stand Sheriff Center.
The win advanced the Wahine to a second round game in the Women's National Invitation Tournament and they will travel to the mainland for its next game at either Portland, Ore., or Provo, Utah.
Hawaii will play the winner of tonight's game between Brigham Young and Oregon State.
UH has already increased its bid from the initial minimum of $6,000 and athletic department officials will check with the WNIT today to see if a further increase is possible.
Dainora Puida started in Galloway's power forward spot. With the early lead, UH head coach Vince Goo was able to rotate Karena Greeny (22 minutes) and Natasja Allen (11 minutes) into the position.
Wahine advance in WNIT
Women's basketball team will head to the
mainland after last night's 73-57 WNIT victory
This allowed Goo to rotate Puida and Christen Roper at center, the norm throughout the season. They combined for 18 points, alike number of rebounds and three blocked shots apiece.By outrebounding the Broncos, 51-35, including 20 offensive boards, the Wahine were able to compensate for a below normal shooting night from the field. They hit 36 percent last night compared to 43 percent for the first 30 games.
"I was pretty happy with the offense compared to the last three games," Goo said.
The difference between last night and the first halves in the three Western Athletic Conference tournament games was the player's focus when shooting, their execution and how they went hard to the boards according to Goo.
"All we talked about before the game was coming out and establishing ground at both ends of the court. A key for us was not to get scored on quickly in transition," Goo said.
In building a 34-20 halftime lead, the Wahine committed just three turnovers, a season-low, and stole the ball five times.
Hawaii also prevented Santa Clara (20-8) from putting together a string of consecutive, unanswered baskets. The Wahine used a 13-4, first-half run to create breathing space, then never allowed the Broncos to score more than two baskets with answering."I think we did a good job on defense with the amount of time we had," said Crystal Lee, who scored a game-high 23 points and had 10 rebounds. "We were focused and upbeat in practice. We were motivated to win. We worried about who we had on the floor, not who we didn't have."
The occasional raggedness can be attributed to some of the Wahine having to play out of position or do things, like inbound the ball, they haven't done previously.
"We told the reserves they would be going in and out. There was a lot of teaching going on tonight," Goo said. "We would give up a baseline penetration or a 3 pointer, but the players adjusted and didn't make consecutive mistakes. I thought we handled their full-court press well. There were a few breakdowns, but that's happens when you have players playing out of position."
April Atuaia scored 12 points, Gabrielova 11 and Puida had a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Annie Garrison led Santa Clara with 13 points, but scored only six in the last 32 minutes.
Clara (20-8) from putting together a string of consecutive, unanswered baskets. The Wahine used a 13-4, first-half run to create breathing space, then never allowed the Broncos to score more than two baskets with answering.
"I think we did a good job on defense with the amount of time we had," said Crystal Lee, who scored a game-high 23 points and had 10 rebounds. "We were focused and upbeat in practice. We were motivated to win. We worried about who we had on the floor, not who we didn't have."
The occasional raggedness can be attributed to some of the Wahine having to play out of position or do things, like inbound the ball, they haven't done previously.
"We told the reserves they would be going in and out. There was a lot of teaching going on tonight," Goo said. "We would give up a baseline penetration or a 3 pointer, but the players adjusted and didn't make consecutive mistakes. I thought we handled their full-court press well. There were a few breakdowns, but that's happens when you have players playing out of position."
April Atuaia scored 12 points, Gabrielova 11 and Puida had a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Annie Garrison led Santa Clara with 13 points, but scored only six in the last 32 minutes.
Hawaii 73, Santa Clara 57
BRONCOS (20-8, 12-4 conference)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Ashbaugh 4 13 2 4 37 1 4 11 Gruening 4 8 0 1 33 2 2 8 Garrison 5 17 3 7 28 10 2 13 Sorenson 1 3 0 0 23 5 0 2 Bradley 2 5 0 0 10 1 1 6 Franklin 1 2 0 0 9 1 0 2 Glysson 2 3 2 2 23 5 3 6 Rondel 2 4 0 0 9 1 0 5 Butler 0 2 0 0 15 4 0 0 Rhea 2 6 0 0 13 1 0 4 Team 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 Totals 23 63 7 14 200 35 12 57
WAHINE (24-7, 12-4 conference)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Gabrielova 1 4 8 10 39 4 6 11 Roper 2 6 3 4 15 7 1 7 Brossman 1 3 0 0 7 2 0 2 Gabriel 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Lee 8 17 5 8 38 10 2 23 Puida 3 11 4 5 33 11 1 11 Atuaia 4 6 3 4 34 6 2 12 Allen 0 2 1 4 11 1 0 1 Greeny 1 7 4 6 22 6 2 6 Team 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 Totals 20 56 28 41 200 51 15 73 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-Hawaii 34, Santa Clara 20.
3-point goals--SCU 4-18 (Bradley 2-4, Ashbaugh 1-6, Rondel 1-3, Gruening 0-3, Sorenson 0-2)., UH 5-15 (Lee 2-6, Gabrielova 1-3, Atuaia 1-2, Puida 1-1, Greeny 0-2, Brossman 0-1). Personal fouls--SCU 28, UH 15. Steals--SCU 2 (Bradley, Butler), UH 5 (Gabrielova 2, Lee, Puida, Atuaia). Blocked shots--SCU 7 (Garrison 5, Sorenson, Butler), UH 6 (Roper 3, Lee 3). Turnovers--SCU 12 (Gruening 3, Sorenson 3, Butler 3, Ashbaugh, Garrison, Rondel), UH 13 (Gabrielova 4, Greeny 3, Puida 2, Atuaia 2, Roper, Lee). Officials--Lewis, Moreno, Yamasaki. A--2,624 (tickets distributed), 2,428 (turnstile).
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii