GEORGE F. LEE/GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH Wahine basketball player Jade Abele took a shot against Sacramento State's Sarah Craig and Delores Alvarez last night.
The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine won the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic last night with a convincing 79-53 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets at the Stan Sheriff Center. Roper rejects Hornets
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe Wahine used their height advantage to run a power game most of the night. They rarely took a shot from outside five or six feet much of the first half except to keep the Hornets' defense honest with the occasional 3-point try. They quit taking shots from beyond the arc early in the second half after missing the first six attempts.
UH was led by seniors Natasja Allen with 18 points and seven rebounds and tournament MVP Christen Roper with 12 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
The seven blocks equal Roper's career high and her rebound total was one short of her own personal best. Jade Abele added 12 points and four rebounds.
"I had a few turnovers Saturday, but did much better tonight. I think playing a wing is better for my strengths. I'm definitely more comfortable out there because I'm more of an outside shooter," said Abele who played more power forward last year. "Vince really got on me about my fitness over the summer to make sure I could come back and play three."
The first eight minutes were relatively even as the Hornets overcame early turnovers, rebounded well and put back a couple of misses to stay with the Wahine 14-12.
Over the next three minutes, Christen Roper dropped in a right-handed, baseline hook and a layup, Jade Abele twice converted one-and-one attempts, then fed Penny Jones for a layup to complete UH's 10-0 run for a 24-12 lead with 9:56 left in the half.
UH continued to dominate but at a slower scoring pace as Hawaii coach Vince Goo made liberal use of his bench. All the Hornets managed over the next six minutes was a bucket by Sarah Craig and a free throw by Katelyn Ciampi as the Wahine upped their advantage to 36-15 with balanced scoring.
The Wahine found the left corner to their liking as Abele with two and Trisha Nishimoto, Michelle Gabriel and April Atuaia with one each, sank 3-pointers from that spot.
"When they came out and pressured us with man, we went inside. When they sat back in a 2-3 zone, we took the outside shot. It all depends on what they gave us," Goo said.
"It was a little more difficult, but Natasja was real good at finding the holes in the zone," said Roper. "I got some great entrance passes from the wings."
The second half was more of the same as the Wahine were able to hit the cutter time after time for easy layups stretching the difference between the teams to 30 points several times.
Goo was able to play everyone at least four minutes. At one point, he had all five freshman on the floor.
This also caused a bit a sloppy play at times.
"Some of our people didn't get sustained playing time as we moved people in and out. That makes it hard to get into rhythm," said Goo. "That's a challenge and I thought when people went back in they met that challenge."
After a redshirt freshman year due to an injury and two seasons of very limited action, Julia Washington scored her first points for UH with a layup with 1:25 left. She also sank the free throw.
The all-tournament team is Michelle Greco and Lisa Willis, UCLA; Jade Abele, Natasja Allen and April Atuaia, Hawaii.
Hawaii 79, Sacramento St. 53
HORNETS (0-2)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Moon 0 3 0 0 16 4 0 0 Ciampi 3 13 5 8 36 7 0 11 Peterson 2 8 0 0 30 7 3 6 Olivarez 2 9 2 4 36 2 3 6 Iceman 1 8 0 0 17 2 0 2 Craig 10 15 0 1 38 1 3 20 Conley 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 Knowlton 1 5 6 6 22 4 1 8 Team 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 Totals 19 61 13 19 200 34 10 53 RAINBOW WAHINE (2-0)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Macfarlane 1 8 0 0 14 0 3 2 Roper 6 11 0 0 22 15 1 12 Sanders 1 10 3 4 28 7 3 5 Atuaia 4 7 0 0 25 4 2 9 Allen 7 14 4 8 28 7 2 18 Abele 3 5 4 4 22 4 7 12 Nishimoto 1 2 2 3 14 1 3 5 Jones 2 3 0 0 10 2 1 4 Gabriel 2 3 0 0 11 3 4 5 Washington 1 1 1 1 7 1 0 3 Spooner 0 0 2 2 13 2 0 2 Aiwohi 1 2 0 1 6 0 0 2 Team 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 Totals 29 66 16 23 200 52 26 79 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 44, Sacramento St. 20.
3-point goals--Sacramento St. 2-10 (Peterson 2-6, Craig 0-1, Moon 0-3), Hawaii 5-17 (Abele 2-4, Gabriel 1-1, Atuaia 1-2, Nishimoto 1-2, Aiwohi 0-1, Sanders 0-2, Macfarlane 0-5). Personal fouls--Sacramento St. 22, Hawaii 14. Steals--Sacramento St. 9 (Olivarez 4, Ciampi 3, Craig, Moon), Hawaii 7 (Abele 2, Nishimoto 2, Sanders 2, Atuaia). Blocked shots--Sacramento St. 5 (Craig 2, Ciampi, Olivarez, Peterson), Hawaii 9 (Roper 7, Allen 2). Turnovers--Sacramento St. 15, Hawaii 14. Officials--Donovan Lewis, Todd Apo, Greg Hayashi. A--1,465.
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