DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Boise State's Cariann Ramirez pressured Hawaii's Natasja Allen, who scored nine points last night. Hawaii won easily.
The Rainbow Wahine put on their best defensive display of the season and repeatedly made use of their height advantage to score points inside en route to their second consecutive Western Athletic Conference home victory. UH 2-0 after
shutting down Boise
By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe Wahine (8-3, 2-0) limited Boise State (3-9, 0-2) to 13 first-half points and just six points in the first 10 1/2 minutes of the second half before UH coach Vince Goo began substituting in the reserves while holding a 28-point lead.
The final score was 62-44 in a game played at the Stan Sheriff Center before the largest crowd of the season, 1,283. The 44 points are a season-low for a Wahine opponent.
Hawaii blocked a season-high nine shots and pulled down a season-best 49 rebounds.
Center Christen Roper led the Wahine with 17 points and had six blocked shots and six rebounds. Her eight baskets were all layups.
"When I get double-teamed, I have to make a quick, smart move to the basket, not a rush move, if I'm going to get a shot," Roper said. "If the shot is not there, I kick it back out to the wing who gave me the ball or to the cross wing.
"I wanted to play tonight. I wanted to improve on my last game. There were some things I wanted to improve offensively and I needed to have better defensive discipline."
Kim Willoughby came off the bench to score 14 points. Natasja Allen pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
However, the offense simply played off the defensive effort.
"Our focus was to try and play their personnel, to take away what they like and just to give them enough pressure so they force things," said UH point guard Michelle Gabriel. "We also really wanted to box out well because they crash the boards."
The Broncos had three players in double digits, led by Abby Vaughn's 11 points. Mandy Welch and Jamie Hawkins each scored 10. The trio accounted for nine of BSU's 13 points in the opening half.
"We played extremely well defensively in the first half," UH coach Vince Goo said. "We didn't give them a transition 3-pointer and we did a great job on stopping their dribble penetration, especially over the top.
"I thought we played great defense with our feet and with our anticipation. Our coaches did a good job of preparation, but it came down to our kids stepping on the floor and executing."
The reserves played the final nine minutes and they will have a lot of film to look at.
"It's always nice to have everyone play, but I was disappointed that we had people on the floor who don't get a lot of playing time, yet they made mental mistakes and missed assignments," Goo said.
"They will get a chance to see the game film and learn from it and correct their mistakes. The ones who get all the playing time did that."
The Wahine were able to keep the Broncos from establishing a quick transition game or penetrating with any effectiveness in the first half. When Boise State did get the ball inside, rejection was often as Wahine defenders blocked five shots.
This left the Broncos with two options: keep trying to penetrate or resort to perimeter shooting. The first option didn't work and the second produced just one 3-pointer in seven attempts.
The defensive effort by the Wahine resulted in a 10-minute scoring drought for the Broncos. Hawkins' basket with 10:22 remaining in the half cut the UH lead to 14-9. Hawaii then scored the next 15 points for a 27-9 lead before Lynnette Grondin broke the spell with BSU's sixth basket of the half with less than a minute to go.
The Wahine more than compensated when reserve point guard Trisha Nishimoto unloaded a high, arcing half-court shot as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The ball banked off the backboard and into the basket for a 3-pointer. The crowd-pleaser put UH ahead 30-13 at intermission.
The Wahine leave on their first road trip of the season Tuesday for games at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and Southern Methodist on Saturday. The Lady Techsters defeated the host Lady Mustangs last night 74-64.
Key -- fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points. Hawaii 62, Boise St. 44
BRONCOS (3-9, 0-2)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Grondin 1 9 0 0 33 2 1 2 Paiz 0 0 0 0 8 0 1 0 Vaughan 4 10 0 0 21 2 1 11 Welch 3 12 2 2 28 5 0 10 Caldwell 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Woodfield 1 6 1 2 33 4 2 3 Nakashima 0 3 0 0 12 1 1 0 Ramirez 1 6 3 4 18 2 0 5 Hawkins 3 10 4 5 28 6 1 10 Grant 1 4 1 1 18 3 0 3 Team 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 Totals 14 60 11 14 200 30 7 44 RAINBOW WAHINE (8-3, 2-0)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Willoughby 5 7 4 4 16 4 0 14 Abele 2 6 0 0 22 3 5 4 Nishimoto 1 4 0 0 10 2 0 3 Macfarlane 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 Roper 8 10 1 2 23 6 1 17 Jones 0 1 0 0 6 2 0 0 Gabriel 1 1 0 0 19 1 0 2 Washington 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 Sanders 1 5 1 2 26 1 1 3 Atuaia 3 9 0 0 22 5 3 6 Allen 3 5 3 4 22 10 1 9 Spooner 0 0 2 2 9 3 2 2 Aiwohi 0 6 2 2 10 4 1 2 Team 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 Totals 24 55 13 16 200 49 14 62
Halftime -- Hawaii 30, Boise St. 13
3-point goals -- Boise St. 5-19 (Vaughan 3-7, Welch 2-5, Grondin 0-3, Woodfield 0-2, Nakashima 0-1, Ramirez 0-1), Hawaii 1-6 (Nishimoto 1-2, Atuaia 0-2, Abele 0-1, Aiwohi 0-1). Personal fouls -- Boise St. 12, Hawaii 12. Technical fouls -- none. Steals -- Boise St. 11 (Hawkins 4, Woodfield 3, Grant 2, Paiz, Welch), Hawaii 6 (Gabriel 3, Macfarlane, Washington, Sanders). Blocked shots -- Boise St. 3 (Woodfield 2, Ramirez), Hawaii 9 (Roper 6, Willoughby, Abele, Aiwohi). Turnovers -- Boise St. 11, Hawaii 15. Officials -- Ryan Wells, Carla Fujimoto, Eric Larson. A -- 1,283.
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