Monday, March 26, 2001

Season to be
proud of ended
with humbling loss

Wahine come home; New
Mexico moves on to play Ohio
State for the WNIT title

By Al Chase

Star-Bulletin

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. >> The New Mexico Lobos had too much inside power at one end of the court and a stifling defense at the other end.

That was the pits for the University of Hawaii Wahine in their Women's National Invitation Tournament semifinal here Saturday night.

New Mexico ended UH's season with a convincing 68-43 victory before 11,090 fans in The Pit. The Lobos (22-12) will attempt to run the table at home Wednesday when they host Ohio State in the championship game. Wisconsin did it last year and Arkansas the year before.

New Mexico went right to 6-foot-3 sophomore center Jordan Adams, who scored nine of UNM's first 11 points. In the process, Christen Roper, UH's 6-5 center, drew two fouls, which put her on the bench for the last 15 minutes of the first half.

With Roper sitting, the Wahine managed just nine first-half rebounds, with only three coming at the offensive end, despite 19 missed shots; and their power game was all but eliminated.

"That hurt our rotation," said Hawaii head coach Vince Goo. "We had to go small with Karena (Greeny) at the 4 spot, and that hurt our rebounding."

Although UNM head coach Don Flanagan thought point guard Molly McKinnon went to Adams too often early, UH assistant coach Jon Newlee disagreed.

"It's a big game. You've got to go to your best player," Newlee said. "To beat a team like New Mexico you have to shoot well, especially knock down the 3s, and win the board battle."

The Wahine, who finished the season at 26-8, were 1-for-14 from beyond the arc before Crystal Lee hit the second trey with 4:44 left in the game.

The Lobos won the rebounding battle, 43-28, with what Flanagan called their best display of blocking out all season.

With Adams' early success, the tone was set for the Lobos on offense. She led all scorers with 17 points, but her teammates buried the Wahine, as well. When the UH defense sagged and perimeter defenders turned to help out down low, the Lobos took advantage outside.

McKinnon and UNM's other guard, Nikki Heckroth, combined to nail 10-of-13 field-goal attempts.

In building their 20-point halftime lead, the Lobos shot 55 percent from the field, and finished right at 50 percent for the game.

Making things easier for UNM was UH's inability to score. The Wahine's shooting percentage from the field was .273, the lowest of the season. With little offensive rebounding, it was one shot and back to defense for UH.

"We were short on a lot of our shots. No legs," Goo said. "We needed to adjust and we didn't. We didn't take a lot of bad shots, but when we did, the other players weren't ready to rebound."

Only once during the game did the Wahine manage to score on consecutive possessions while denying the Lobos between baskets. That happened in the final two minutes, when Lee, who scored 15 points, and April Atuaia connected on 3-pointers.

The Lobos were physical on defense and when posting up, but the Wahine did the same thing at the other end.

Although McKinnon said she felt seven minutes into the second half that the Wahine were not going to mount a comeback because they weren't hitting their shots, Goo never sensed that.

"I felt we could come back. We've done it all season," Goo said. "We never stopped playing and you have to be proud of that.

"The Lobos played very, very well on offense, had outstanding defensive schemes and a good transition game. I wish we had played better, but there is nothing to be ashamed of, losing to a team that is hot like New Mexico."

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