Friday, February 8, 2002
RUSTON, La. >> Seventy-three consecutive conference opponents have gone into the Thomas Assembly Center and failed to defeat the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Tech is pain
in UH’s neckFrom staff and wire reports
Hawaii became No. 74 last night in an 82-53 women's basketball loss that had an all too familiar start. The Lady Techsters, hitting 53 percent of their field-goal attempts, raced to a 46-22 halftime lead.
Their job was made easier when UH center Christen Roper went to the bench with two fouls at the 16:10 mark of the first half. This is just about the same time she sat down with two fouls in the first meeting between the teams Jan. 13, a game Louisiana Tech won as well.
Kim Willoughby replaced Roper, and within five minutes, she too was on the bench with two fouls.
"That's not good," said UH coach Vince Goo. "The last game we outscored them in the second half because Christen's defensive presence made a big difference."
Last night, the Rainbow Wahine gave up 46 first-half points, but only 36 in the second half with Roper in the game. They also cut down on the Lady Techsters' efficiency from the field, holding them to 42 percent in the second half.
But, the damage was done in the first half, especially over the final seven minutes when the Lady Techsters outscored UH, 23-8.
Louisiana Tech, ranked seventh in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll and No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, won its 12th consecutive Western Athletic Conference game and 17th straight overall since losing to UConn on Dec. 2.
The defeat ended a five-game Hawaii winning streak.
The Lady Techsters had five players in double figures, led by junior center Cheryl Ford's 17 points. She also had a game-high 12 rebounds as Louisiana Tech controlled the boards 47-29.
"Louisiana Tech played very well tonight. They had a good inside game in the first half with Roper out. We switched back and forth from zone to man on defense, but they kicked it back out in the second half and hit their perimeter shots," Goo said.
Like the first meeting, the Hawaii players rarely got second shots at the basket. The Louisiana Tech defense was so solid, the Rainbow Wahine did not score consecutive baskets until five minutes were gone in the second half. That's when Janka Gabrielova sank a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and converted a layup.
Chelsea Wagner scored a career-high 18 points and set a UH record for 3-point attempts in a game with 12. She made four.
Roper scored 11 points, topped UH with seven rebounds and blocked four shots.
The Wahine fly to Dallas today for a game tomorrow afternoon against Southern Methodist. The Lady Mustangs defeated San Jose State 92-87 last night for their third consecutive victory.
Hawaii edged SMU 52-51 at the Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 11. That was the game in which Natasja Allen missed 17 minutes of the first half with a sprained ankle, Roper got two fouls early and Willoughby was ill and unable to play.
Note: The Wahine rented a van Tuesday and drove to Ruston after learning one flight from Dallas to Shreveport was canceled and a second flight scheduled for seven hours later had a 90 percent chance of being canceled because of snow.
Louisiana Tech 82, Hawaii 53
Wahine (15-5, 8-3 Wac)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Allen 2 9 1 4 32 6 0 5 Greeny 2 6 0 0 33 6 0 4 Roper 3 7 5 5 23 7 0 11 Gabrielova 4 8 0 0 29 2 2 9 Wagner 6 15 2 2 35 1 0 18 Willoughby 0 3 4 6 19 1 0 4 Abele 0 2 0 0 11 2 0 0 Brossman 0 1 0 0 8 0 0 0 Gabriel 0 0 2 2 7 1 0 2 Macfarlane 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 17 52 14 19 200 29 2 53 Lady Techsters (17-3, 12-0 wac)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Walker 4 8 2 2 31 9 2 10 Ford 7 18 3 6 22 12 1 17 Lassiter 3 8 2 2 33 2 5 10 Perry 1 3 0 0 29 2 1 3 Obaze 6 12 0 0 31 4 3 13 O. Lewis 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 Bond 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Smith 5 6 1 2 23 3 2 14 T. Lewis 3 4 0 0 9 7 0 6 Frierson 3 9 1 2 17 5 2 7 Team 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 33 70 9 14 200 47 16 82 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-Louisiana Tech 46, Hawaii 22
3-point goals--Hawaii 5-17 (Gabrielova 1-2, Wagner 4-12, Greeny 0-1, Abele 0-1, Macfarlane 0-1), Louisiana Tech 7-12 (Smith 3-3, Lassiter 2-4, Perry 1-2, Obaze 1-3). Personal fouls--Hawaii 13, Louisiana Tech 17. Technical fouls--none. Steals--Hawaii 4 (Gabrielova 4), Louisiana Tech 8 (Obaze 2, Smith 2, Walker, Ford, Lassiter, Perry). Blocked shots--Hawaii 4 (Roper 4), Louisiana Tech 4 (Ford 3, Walker). Turnovers--Hawaii 18, Louisiana Tech 2. Officials--Yarbrough, Weeks, Caudle. A--4,167.
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