Sunday, January 6, 2002
[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
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Wahine avenge The Wahine basketball team made sure there was no repeat of last year's upset loss by making a solid first-half defensive statement, then matching baskets with San Jose State in the second half.
Spartans’ upset
Gabrielova leads with 21 points;
Willoughby adds 16 points
and grabs 15 reboundsBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe 81-67 Western Athletic Conference victory kept Hawaii (9-2, 2-0) undefeated in league play and handed the Spartans (7-5, 2-1) their first conference loss.
Janka Gabrielova scored a game-high 21 points to lead five Wahine in double figures. Kim Willoughby followed with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for her first double-double as a Wahine basketball player.
April Atuaia chipped in with 12 points on a perfect night from the field (4-for-4) and contributed eight rebounds.
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Karena Greeny and Christen Roper each had 10 points.Without huge contributions from the bench in the first half and starters adjusting, the Wahine might not have survived a loss of composure for part of the second half.
"They shot 21 percent in the first half. Some of that was them and some of it was us. But we come out in the second half and have three turnovers and the momentum shifts," said UH coach Vince Goo. "We know it's going to be a physical game with a lot of reaching and we can't let that bother us. That's why we had to maintain our composure. I don't think we regained it until four minutes left in the game."
The Wahine took control of the game in the first half despite having 6-foot-5 Roper and 6-2 Natasja Allen stuck on the bench for 16 and 12 minutes saddled with two personal fouls.
Willoughby replaced Roper and contributed eight points and eight rebounds with no turnovers. Greeny moved into Allen's forward slot and came through with seven points and four rebounds while playing the full 20 minutes. Christa Brossman (two points and two rebounds) and Chelsea Wagner rotated in to fill Greeny's spot.
Atuaia hit all three of her field goal attempts, including two from beyond the arc, to lead UH with nine first-half points.
For the sophomore shooting guard, it was just another game. "Last year is out of my mind," said Atuaia, whose turnover led to SJSU's go-ahead basket a year ago.
Ahead 17-13 with 13:05 left on the clock, Hawaii held the Spartans to four points the remainder of the half while scoring 23 to take a 40-17 lead into the locker room.
Two spurts, 9-0 and 10-0, interuppted only by Atari Parker's basket, delighted the crowd of 1,443, biggest of the season for a Wahine basketball game.
Hawaii shot 50 percent (16-for-32) from the field while holding San Jose State to 25 percent (9-for-36). The Wahine also went 5-for-10 on 3-pointers and had their way on the boards, pulling down 30 rebounds to the Spartans' 15. About the only downside in the first half was UH's 3-for-8 shooting from the free throw line.
"The key was Kim Willoughby and her play and Karena coming in and playing the other post. Those two kids really battled hard tonight," said Goo. "San Jose State was 2-0 on the road. They are for real."
Willoughby played 31 minutes and thinks conditioning for basketball is 10 times harder than volleyball. But, after having doubts she would be able to make it the first few days of practice, she is confident now.
"I think I still have a long ways to go with the offense. I still get confused with the different offenses, but I go into practice early every day and the girls really work hard to help me out," said Willoughby.
"I enjoy defense, whether it's volleyball or basketball. I've always been taught that defense wins games and offense wins championships."
Hawaii 81, San Jose St. 67
SPARTANS (7-5, 2-1)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Williams 7 20 3 5 37 1 2 19 Parker 2 11 4 4 31 5 2 9 Andrews 1 6 0 0 13 2 1 2 Taylor 3 11 2 2 22 6 1 8 Kellog 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 Taylor 1 6 0 0 11 1 1 2 A'Giza 6 14 0 0 35 3 1 12 Smith, M. 0 3 2 4 36 12 1 2 Smith, C. 6 10 1 1 10 2 0 13 Team 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 Totals 26 82 12 16 200 38 9 67 RAINBOWS (9-2, 2-0)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Willoughby 6 10 4 5 31 15 0 16 Gabrielova 5 10 8 10 36 3 6 21 Roper 4 8 2 4 18 7 2 10 Brossman 1 3 0 0 7 2 1 2 Gabriel 0 0 1 2 4 0 1 1 Atuaia 4 4 2 6 37 8 1 12 Allen 3 5 1 3 19 4 1 7 Greeny 3 6 2 4 31 4 1 10 Wagner 1 6 0 0 17 2 3 2 Team 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 Totals 27 52 20 34 200 51 16 81 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-San Jose St. 17, Hawaii 40.
3-point goals--San Jose St. 3-10 (Williams 2-6, Parker 1-2, Andrews 0-1, A'Giza 0-1); Hawaii 7-14 (Gabrielova 3-6, Atuaia 2-2, Greeny 2-3, Wagner 0-3). Personal fouls--San Jose St. 23, Hawaii 16. Technical fouls--none. Steals--San Jose St. 8 (Williams 3, A'Giza 2, C. Smith 2, M. Smith); Hawaii 4 (Gabriel 2, Atuaia 2). Blocked shots--San Jose St. 5 (Parker 3, Andrews, M. Smith); Hawaii 7 (Roper 3, Gabrielova 2, Willoughby, Wagner). Turnovers--San Jose St. 6 (Williams 3, Parker, Taylor, M. Smith); Hawaii 19 (Greeny 4, Willoughby 3, Gabrielova 3, Brossman 3, Gabriel 2, Atuaia 2, Roper, TEAM). Officials--Johnson, Yamasaki, Wells. A--1443.
WAC STANDINGS
Conference All games Team W L % GB W L La. Tech 4 0 1.000 -- 9 3 Tulsa 3 0 1.000 12 8 5 Hawaii 2 0 1.000 1 9 2 San Jose State 2 1 .667 112 7 5 Rice 2 1 .667 112 8 4 UTEP 1 2 .333 212 3 8 Fresno 1 3 .250 3 6 8 Nevada 1 3 .250 3 4 9 SMU 1 3 .250 3 6 8 Boise St. 0 4 .000 4 4 10
LAST NIGHT
Hawaii 81, San Jose State 67
SMU 62, Boise State 56
Tulsa 66, Fresno State 54
Louisiana Tech 90, UTEP 53
Rice 54, Nevada 41
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii