The Connecticut Huskies began the second half with a stifling defense and a very accurate offense to pull away from the Oklahoma Sooners and win the 24th Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center. UConn wins Wahine Classic
rematch of NCAA final
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comUConn's 13-point margin in the 73-60 victory yesterday was similar to the 12-point win (82-70) in last year's NCAA women's national championship game between the teams in San Antonio. However, only one starter from that showdown a year ago, UConn's Diana Taurasi, was in the lineup yesterday.
The fifth-ranked Huskies outscored the Sooners 19-6 in the first nine minutes of the second half by making 7 of 9 field-goal attempts, hitting both their 3-pointers and all four free throws. Meanwhile, the UConn defense held OU to 0-for-11 shooting from the floor. The Sooners did not score their first field goal until the 13:27 mark on a Dionnah Jackson transition layup.
By then UConn (5-0) had increased a slim halftime lead to 14 points, 59-45.
It was a slight change in the Huskies defense to start the second half that tipped the scales, according to UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
"It took us awhile to figure it out, but we took the ball out of the hands of Jackson, their guard, and we shot very well at the other end," Auriemma said.
The first half was a back and forth swapping of short scoring streaks. There were 10 lead changes in the final 7:40, with the Huskies on top 44-42 at intermission on Taurasi's 8-foot jumper from just off the right lane with 17 seconds left.
Taurasi scored her 1,000th career point at the 6:21 mark on a short driving layup along the left baseline after taking a feed from Ashley Battle. The junior and only returning starter from last year's national champions scored 18 first-half points, combining with fellow guard Ann Strother for 32 of UConn's points.
The 23rd-ranked Sooners (5-2) had their own hot hand in Maria Villarroel, who pumped in 19 points, 14 of them on slashing drives along the left baseline for layups in heavy traffic. She had help from Jackson, who scored nine points.
Jackson, who had four assists in the first half, had just two after intermission and was held to four points. The UConn defense cut Villarroel's offensive output the final 20 minutes. She finished with 27 points.
Taurasi finished with a game-high 30 points, tied for a team-high seven rebounds and led the Huskies with five assists.
"I think we're in a position where the more games we play, the more we will learn about each other and become more comfortable," Auriemma said. "You can't force-feed experience. That's why I feel good about this tournament."
UConn also won the event in 1995 and was runner-up in 1991.
No. 11 North Carolina 61, Hawaii 50: The Tar Heels dealt the Wahine their 10th consecutive loss to a nationally ranked team over the past four seasons to claim third place.
In the opening half, the Wahine (3-2) had difficulty dealing with UNC's half-court trapping defense and the overall quickness of the Tar Heels. Hawaii, averaging 14 turnovers per game, was guilty of 10 turnovers in the first half alone, which helped UNC take a 30-24 halftime lead.
After falling behind 7-0, the Wahine came back to grab a brief 10-9 lead on two 3-pointers by April Atuaia and one from Jade Abele. Hawaii then went nearly seven minutes without scoring.
The Tar Heels (4-1) went on an 18-7 run during the UH drought to go up 27-17.
"Once we got into the half-court, we didn't attack their pressure. It wasn't great, but we did not play bravely," UH coach Vince Goo said. "When we did get the ball into our post people, we turned it over."
The Wahine suffered a scare with 2:07 left in the half when Atuaia went down clutching her left knee, the same knee she injured last season. Fortunately, the knee was only hyperextended and Atuaia played in the second half.
UH cut the lead to three points three times early in the second half, but after Michelle Gabriel's 3-pointer from the left corner left UNC holding a 45-41 lead, the Wahine ran into another offensive cold spell.
The Tar Heels scored 11 unanswered points aided, in part, by three consecutive player-control fouls called on UH.
The Wahine went six minutes and 11 seconds without scoring before Abele sank two free throws. It would be another minute and a half before they scored another field goal. The Wahine seemed to be more and more frustrated trying to run the offense as the half progressed.
"I thought we were moving the ball around good, getting it to the baseline, and we had three strong rebounders in Kenya McBee, Chrystal Baptist and Nikita Bell in there," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
Said Goo: "We gave up shots we wanted the Tar Heels to take, but we did not box out at all and they just beat us on the boards. We got a whipping on the boards."
DePaul 55, Denver 44: The Blue Demons (3-1) rallied from a two-point halftime deficit behind Khara Smith's 15 second-half points to capture fifth place. The Pioneers (1-4) were led by Ashley Atkinson's 11 points.
Fordham 74, Gonzaga 69: Caitlin Chiaramonte was 9-for-12 from the field and scored 22 points as the Rams (3-2) took seventh place. The Bulldogs (1-4) got 19 points from Ashley Burke.
Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points. North Carolina 61, Hawaii 50
TAR HEELS (4-1)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Thomas 0 2 0 0 17 4 0 0 Brown 5 12 0 0 33 1 3 12 Sutton 6 11 0 0 32 4 1 12 Atkinson 8 15 3 5 32 5 0 19 Bell 2 8 2 2 24 5 4 6 Chambers 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 Metcalf 2 4 2 2 19 2 1 6 McBee 2 3 0 0 17 7 2 4 Baptist 1 2 0 0 10 4 0 2 Sell 0 3 0 4 7 2 0 0 Davis 0 1 2 7 5 2 0 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 26 62 7 9 200 36 11 61 WAHINE (3-2)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Abele 3 9 5 6 30 4 1 13 Roper 3 8 2 4 28 8 0 8 Gabriel 1 2 0 1 38 3 5 3 Atuaia 4 12 0 0 33 2 3 10 Allen 3 5 3 4 34 4 0 9 Nishimoto 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Jones 1 1 0 0 7 0 0 2 Sanders 1 4 2 3 17 2 2 5 Spooner 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 16 41 12 18 200 25 11 50 Halftime-UNC 30, Hawaii 24.
3-point goals-- Hawaii 6-14 (Abele 2-6, Atuaia 2-5, Sanders 1-2, Gabriel 1-1), UNC 2-9(Brown 2-5). Personal fouls-- Hawaii 12, UNC 21. Technical fouls--none. Steals-- Hawaii 5 (Abele, Roper, Atuaia, Allen, Spooner); UNC 9 (Brown 3, Metcalf 2, Thomas, Sutton, Bell, McBee). Blocked shots-- Hawaii 6 (Roper 5, Allen); UNC 1 (Sell); Turnovers-- Hawaii 18 (Allen 4, Abele 3, Roper 3, Atuaia 2, Gabriel, Allen, Nishimoto, Jones, Sanders, Spooner); UNC 13 (Brown 3, Thomas 2, Suton 2, Baptist 2, Atkinson, Bell, Chambers, Davis). Officials--Fujimoto, Jones, Yamasaki. A--2,164 (tickets issued).
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