[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Pam Tambini put up a shot over UTEP's Noni Wharemate during last night's game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii relies on
defense to top UTEP
It all starts with defense.
Definitely.
Hawaii used a frustrating, suffocating defense against Texas-El Paso last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine held the Miners to 11 points below their scoring average en route to a 57-49 Western Athletic Conference victory in front of 717.
It marked the first time that Hawaii (7-16, 5-9) won two in a row this season, helping Vince Goo celebrate his 34th wedding anniversary. UTEP (14-10, 9-6) saw its four-game winning streak come to a screeching halt.
"That was a very good offensive team we played against and I'm happy how our team came out and played," Goo said. "They were reminded during shootaround that their longest winning streak was one game. ... We weren't sure if they'd have that hungry feeling that they had the other night (against Boise State).
"At their place (a 44-39 loss) we played great defense. Tonight, the difference was our offense was a lot better and we played a little more up-tempo."
Keying the energy for the Wahine was freshman guard Janevia Taylor, who scored a game-high 19 points. Freshman guard Pam Tambini broke her season-high scoring mark for the second straight game, adding 17 points, and junior forward Jade Abele had 12.
Senior guard Noni Wharemate led the Miners with 12 points. Senior guard Vaida Zagurskyte, UTEP's scoring leader (12.2 ppg.), was held to 11, all in the second half, when Hawaii switched briefly from a man defense to a match-up zone.
"I think Hawaii is playing with a lot more confidence, especially their freshmen," UTEP coach Keitha Green said. "The biggest difference from when we played them earlier is they're playing more as a group. They're playing with a purpose.
"Defensively, Hawaii did a nice job. Taylor had a nice game for them and we're going to have to deal with her for another three years."
Youth also came up big for the Wahine in the key with freshman center Brittany Grice hitting all three of her shots in the first half and coming up with five defensive rebounds.
"I can't even begin to describe how it feels for us to win this one," Grice said. "Great teams find a way to come out and do it every game. We're beginning to show some signs.
"The team chemistry is there. It's not where it needs to be but I'm impressed with how everyone is stepping up their game, working together.
"And Nevi (Taylor) ... I've seen her play since high school. She doesn't care what grade she is. She's going to bring it on."
Taylor turned it up a notch to start the second half. The Miners scored three quick points to take a 24-23 lead and then only managed three free throws the next 10 minutes.
Part of that was due to Hawaii defensive pressure and Taylor's offense. She scored nine of the Wahine's 19 points as UH blew out to a 41-29 lead with 9:44 left.
"I was just going with the offense and I shot what they gave me," said Taylor, who was 6-for-10 from the field. "And the defense was good. We didn't want (Zagurskyte) to get the easy shots she got the first time."
Zagurskyte kept UTEP in it, scoring all 11 of her points in a five-minute span. Her 3-pointer pulled the Miners to 46-38 with 3:10 to go, but the visitors could get no closer.
Tambini's second 3-pointer pushed the margin back to 11 and the Wahine sank eight of 12 free-throw attempts to close out their scoring. Kia Dowell hit a 3-pointer with less than a second to go to cap the Miners' scoring.
The first half was one of runs and droughts. UTEP went scoreless for nearly four minutes while Hawaii jumped out to a 12-5 lead.
Charnette Phelps' basket with 10:12 remaining jump-started a 9-0 run by the Miners where they hit all four shots to take their first lead at 16-14. The Wahine responded by hitting three of their next four shots, including two by Tambini, to regain the lead at 20-18.
Hawaii used three free throws to pull out to a 23-18 margin but was unable to score in the final 100 seconds. Two baskets by Ingrid Goslin in the final 38 seconds pulled UTEP to within one at halftime, 23-22.
UTEP came in ranked third in the WAC in 3-point defense (.268). Hawaii was 6-for-14 (.429), with Abele and Tambini each hitting two.
WAC women's standings
Yesterday
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Louisiana Tech 13 1 .929 20 2 .909 Rice 13 1 .929 16 7 .696 UTEP 9 6 .600 14 10 .583 Tulsa 8 6 .571 15 9 .625 SMU 8 6 .571 12 11 .522 San Jose St. 6 8 .385 14 9 .591 Hawaii 5 9 .308 7 16 .273 Fresno St. 4 11 .267 10 15 .400 Boise St. 4 11 .267 7 17 .292 Nevada 2 13 .133 3 22 .120
Rice 71, Fresno State 58
Louisiana Tech 89, SMU 79
Tulsa 79, Nevada 66
San Jose State 58, Boise State 48
Hawaii 57, UTEP 49
Hawaii 57, UTEP 49
miners (14-10, 9-6 Wac)
wahine (7-16, 5-9 wac)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Dydek 0 4 2 4 9 5 0 2 Zagurskyte 5 8 0 0 38 4 3 11 Launiainen 0 2 0 0 7 1 0 0 Wharemate 3 7 4 5 35 3 2 12 Phelps 3 8 0 0 35 5 0 6 Valtierra 2 5 0 0 32 5 2 5 Dowell 1 2 0 0 4 0 0 3 Goslin 2 3 0 2 5 1 0 4 McGee 3 13 0 0 35 7 0 6 Team 1 Totals 19 52 6 11 200 32 7 49
Key -- fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Taylor 6 10 6 9 34 4 2 19 Abele 3 10 4 4 32 6 2 12 Nishimoto 0 1 0 2 6 0 0 0 Sanders 1 3 0 0 35 5 2 3 Solia 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 Macfarlane 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 Atuaia 0 1 0 0 15 2 0 0 Spooner 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Tambini 5 13 5 6 34 5 2 17 Grice 3 3 0 1 32 5 2 6 Team 6 Totals 18 44 15 22 200 34 10 57
Halftime -- Hawaii 23, UTEP 22.
3-point goals -- UTEP 5-14 (Wharemate 2-3, Dowell 1-1, Valtierra 1-2, Zagurskyte 1-3, Dydek 0-1, Launiainen 0-1, McGee 0-3), Hawaii 6-14 (Tambini 2-3, Abele 2-6, Taylor 1-2, Sanders 1-3). Personal fouls -- UTEP 22, Hawaii 10. Fouled out -- Zagurskyte.
Steals -- UTEP 8 (Wharemate 3, Valtierra 2, Phelps, Goslin, McGee), Hawaii 5 (Taylor, Abele, Sanders, Atuaia, Tambini). Blocked shots -- UTEP 1 (Dydek), Hawaii 2 (Grice, Solia). Turnovers -- UTEP 16 (Valtierra 4, Phelps 3, Wharemate 3, Dydek 3, Zagurskyte, McGee, team), Hawaii 16 (Taylor 3, Abele 3, Sanders 2, Atuaia 2, Grice 2, Tambini, Macfarlane, Nishimoto, team). Officials -- Parrish, Jones, Lewis. A -- 1,372.
