[ WAHINE BASKETBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Jade Abele drove down the court during last night's 63-54 win over Nevada. Abele scored 14 points.
UH doesn’t fold
vs. NevadaThe Wahine avenge a loss
earlier this season to
the Wolf Pack
This Rainbow Wahine basketball team was determined not to be embarrassed again.
Hawaii overcame a first-half deficit and put together an inspired second half to overcome Nevada 63-54 last night before 555 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Wahine avenged an awful loss and showed how much improvement had occurred in the span of the Western Athletic Conference season.
"Nevada outplayed us (in the first half). They really came out inspired," UH coach Vince Goo said. "They played hard, especially their defense. We didn't handle their pressure in the half court very well. We defended a lot better in the second half and that gave us the chance to push the ball up in the second half and get some quick baskets."
Two months ago, Hawaii folded at the half. Yesterday, the Wahine got back into the game. UH (8-18, 6-11) didn't need reminding that it could become Nevada's fourth victim this season. The Wolf Pack (3-24, 2-15) have hardly won this season, but one of their three previous victories was over Hawaii.
"After going to their place and losing, we were excited about this game. That game wasn't too right," freshman Janevia Taylor said. "Our second-half performance is always better than our first-half performance. We always seem to come out and do better in the second half after a speech or two.
"This one was probably the best one because we came back from trailing and we won the game. We haven't done that this year."
Taylor led Hawaii with 18 points. The Wahine also got double-digit performances from Jade Abele (14 points, seven rebounds) and freshman Pam Tambini (13 points, five rebounds).
Tambini, who missed the first road trip recovering from an injury, swung the game hugely in Hawaii's favor.
"Hawaii came out really aggressive in the second half," said Nevada coach Kim Gervasoni, who had only eight players on her team. "They turned it up a notch and we didn't really match that aggressiveness. They did a good job on the offensive boards and our transition game wasn't really there.
"The last five minutes of the first half started the momentum change. We've had trouble all year with defense and running."
Hawaii connected on back-to-back treys from Abele and Taylor to even the game at 32 in the opening minutes. Hawaii took its first lead (34-32) since the opening minutes of the game on a basket by Abele. UH went ahead on a 14-5 run as Taylor got hot.
The Wahine defense clamped down on the Wolf Pack and sucked them into a half-court game. Nevada went cold from the field and couldn't get its shots to drop.
"Tambini and Abele stepped it up big time in the second half," Gervasoni said. "I thought they really hurt us."
Nevada put the hurt on Hawaii in the first half. The Wolf Pack attacked fast and ferociously, scoring baskets mostly while the Wahine were still getting to their defensive positions. Nevada launched several quick shots without shaving much time off the shot clock. And if the Wolf Pack missed, they crashed the boards effectively.
Offensively, Hawaii didn't help itself, either, with turnovers and ill-advised shot selection. When the Wahine got good looks at the basket, their shots didn't fall.
The Wolf Pack led 30-19 before Hawaii chipped away at Nevada's lead. Tambini nailed a 3-pointer to initiate the run. Tambini followed with another jumper with 1:12 left to go in the half and then found April Atuaia underneath the basket 22 seconds later.
The Wahine shot a mere 35.7 percent from the field in the first half. Nevada wasn't much better at 38.2 percent, but it led 30-26 at the break. Talisha Quick-Rath had 10 of her 12 points in the first half. Jocelyn Mancebo led the Wolf Pack with 17 points.
The Wahine play Fresno State tomorrow. It will be senior night for Atuaia, and Goo's last game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Bulldogs defeated San Jose State 72-60 last night to move into a three-way tie for sixth with the Wahine and the Spartans.
Note: Senior citizens 65 and up can receive free admission into tomorrow's game.
WAC women's standings
Yesterday's results
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Louisiana Tech 16 1 .941 23 2 .920 Rice 15 2 .938 18 8 .692 Tulsa 11 6 .647 18 9 .667 SMU 9 8 .529 13 13 .500 UTEP 10 8 .556 15 12 .556 San Jose St. 6 11 .353 14 12 .538 Fresno St. 6 11 .353 12 15 .444 Hawaii 6 11 .353 8 18 .308 Boise St. 5 13 .294 8 19 .296 Nevada 2 15 .118 3 24 .111
Louisiana Tech 82, Rice 70
Tulsa 73, SMU 67
UTEP 75, Boise St. 61
Fresno St. 72, San Jose St. 60
Hawaii 63, Nevada 54
Tomorrow's games (All times Hawaii time)
Rice at SMU, 10 a.m.
Tulsa at Louisiana Tech, 3 p.m.
Nevada at San Jose St., 6 p.m.
Fresno St. at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
End regular season
March 10-13
WAC tournament, at Fresno, Calif.
Hawaii 63, Nevada 54
Wolf Pack (3-24, 2-15 WAC)
WAHINE (8-18, 6-11 WAC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Quick-Rath 5 14 0 0 34 3 0 12 Bankston 5 11 4 6 33 5 2 14 Graham 2 5 0 2 23 4 1 5 Preslar 0 1 0 0 17 4 0 0 Mancebo 7 12 0 2 27 1 0 17 Saltmarsh 2 5 0 0 23 4 3 4 Young 1 8 0 0 36 9 1 2 Henry 0 3 0 0 7 1 0 0 TEAM 3 Totals 22 59 4 10 200 34 7 54
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 7 10 3 4 30 4 1 18 Abele 4 7 4 5 27 7 1 14 Nishimoto 0 3 0 0 12 2 0 0 Sanders 2 7 2 33 24 7 0 6 Solia 0 3 0 0 10 1 0 0 Macfarlane 0 1 2 2 14 1 2 2 Atuaia 2 5 4 4 22 4 2 8 Spooner 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 Tambini 5 11 2 5 30 5 4 13 Grice 1 2 0 0 27 5 0 2 TEAM 1 Totals 21 49 17 23 200 37 10 63
Halftime--Nevada 30, Hawaii 26.
3-point goals--Nevada 6-18 (Mancebo 3-5, Quick-Rath 2-7, Graham 1-1, Preslar 0-1, Young 0-4), Hawaii 4-9 (Abele 2-2, Taylor 1-1, Tambini 1-4, Nishimoto 0-1, Solia 0-1). Personal fouls--Nevada 21, Hawaii 12.
Steals--Nevada 11 (Bankston 4, Young 3, Graham 2, Quick-Rath, Mancebo); Hawaii 4 (Taylor, Abele, Atuaia, Tambini). Blocked shots--Nevada 3 (Preslar, Mancebo, Young); Hawaii 2 (Grice 2); Turnovers--Nevada 16 (Young 7, Bankston 4, Graham, Preslar, Mancebo, Henry, TEAM); Hawaii 15 (Tambini 4, Sanders 3, Atuaia 2, Grice 2, Taylor, Abele, Solia, Macfarlane). Officials--Yamasaki, Krzesnik, Westlake. A--555.
