Hawaii upends
Louisiana Tech

When did they start believing?

Even after the buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read "Hawaii 79, Louisiana Tech 78" the Rainbow Wahine had trouble processing it. It was the first time in 15 meetings dating back to 1980 that Hawaii had prevailed against the Lady Techsters.

"Wow, that was LaTech," senior Jade Abele said. "I still can't believe it."

In what is arguably the biggest win in UH women's basketball history, the Wahine battled the toughest team in the Western Athletic Conference and came out on top. Only 329 at the Stan Sheriff Center saw Hawaii beat Louisiana Tech in overtime, handing the Lady Techsters just their fourth loss in 75 WAC games.

Amy Sanders capped a career-scoring night with her basket with 7 seconds left in overtime, finishing with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Abele added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Wahine improved to 9-9 overall, 5-6 in WAC.

"I've been telling them all year that they've got to believe they can beat these kinds of teams," first-year UH coach Jim Bolla said. "We've talked about it and now finally did it.

"Hopefully, now we've taken that first step, capitalize on this very big win for the program and move forward. We'll be back at work tomorrow, getting ready for SMU."

Hawaii hosts the Lady Mustangs at 7 p.m. tomorrow. SMU (14-5, 7-5) lost at San Jose State last night 63-62.

At today's practice, the Wahine likely will work on what Bolla calls "the easiest shot" in basketball: a free throw. Hawaii was 21 of 33 from the line and could have won the game in regulation if Janevia Taylor had hit even one of her two free throws with 17.5 seconds to go.

"Believe me, I thought about that during overtime," said Taylor, who had 12 points. "I tried to make sure I made up for it somehow with defense and passes."

Taylor had two assists in the overtime, passing off to Abele for her 3-pointer, and again to Sanders for her game-winning shot.

It was the third time this season that the Lady Techsters (14-6, 10-2) fell in the last minute of a game. On Jan. 27, they were beaten at Boise State on a last-second shot, snapping their 23-game winning streak in the WAC.

"Obviously, we're very beatable," LaTech coach Kurt Budke said. "And give them credit. The kid (Sanders) stepped up and hit a big shot at the end."

The Lady Techsters played the last 2:33 of overtime without the WAC's leading scorer Tasha Crain (20.1 ppg). The reigning WAC Player of the Week fouled out after scoring a career-high 36 points.

Also in double figures for the Lady Techsters were Erica Taylor (14) and Lakiste Barkus (12). The Wahine got 11 points from Milia Macfarlane and Alofa Toiaivao.

By halftime, both Crain and Sanders were well on their way to career nights with 16 points each.

Last month at Ruston, La., the Wahine had a 10-point lead late in the first half only to see the Lady Techsters use an 8-0 run to trail by two at halftime. LaTech went on to win that game 68-54.

Last night, Hawaii didn't fold, even after being unable to stop the Lady Techsters in the last 18 seconds of regulation. Erica Taylor hit a 3-pointer and, after UH's Taylor missed the two possible game-clinching free throws, Crain drove in to tie the game with 2.7 left and send it into overtime.

It was tied at 76-76 when Macfarlane hit one of two free throws for a short-lived UH lead. Erica Taylor hit her last shot with 19.9 seconds to go to put LaTech back ahead.

Sanders countered with what would be her game-winner and the Wahine defense held, forcing Shan Moore to take a desperate 3-pointer as time expired.

WAC standings

	WAC				Overall
	W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L
Louisiana Tech	10	2	.833	--	14	6
San Jose State	8	3	.727	1 1/2	15	6
Rice	7	4	.636	2 1/2	14	8
SMU	7	5	.583	3	16	6
Tulsa	6	5	.545	3 1/2	14	7
Fresno State	6	6	.500	4	14	7
Hawaii	5	6	.455	4 1/2	9	9
UTEP	4	8	.333	6	9	13
Boise State	3	9	.250	7	8	13
Nevada	2	10	.167	8	6	16

Yesterday
Hawaii 79, Louisiana Tech 78, OT
Nevada 58, Boise State 53
San Jose State 63, SMU 62, OT
Fresno State 65, UTEP 47

Tomorrow (All times Hawaii time)
Boise State at Fresno State, 2 p.m.
Tulsa at Rice, 3 p.m.
UTEP at Nevada, 4 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at San Jose State, 5 p.m.
SMU at Hawaii, 7 p.m.

Hawaii 79, Louisiana Tech 78

Lady Techsters (14-6, 10-2 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Barkus	5	16	0	0	45	5	6	12
Taylor	5	11	3	4	21	7	1	14
Crain	12	18	8	10	42	3	4	36
Ray-Boyd	1	4	0	0	18	6	2	3
Moore, Sh.	0	7	0	0	20	3	0	0
Moore, Ty.	1	6	1	2	21	5	0	3
DeCiman	3	8	0	0	19	4	0	6
Kursh	2	7	0	1	39	7	0	4
TEAM						1
Totals	29	77	12	17	225	41	13	78
Wahine (9-9, 5-6 wac)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Taylor	4	10	2	4	33	7	4	12
Abele	5	9	1	2	43	10	6	14
Sanders	7	13	13	16	44	10	1	27
Crouch	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0
Macfarlane	4	6	3	4	45	6	4	11
Lee	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
Grice	2	7	0	2	20	5	0	4
Toiaivao	4	12	2	5	33	9	4	11
Totals	26	58	21	33	225	47	19	79

Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Louisiana Tech 28, Hawaii 25.
3-point goals -- Louisiana Tech 8-21 (Crain 4-5, Barkus 2-8, Taylor 1-3, Ray-Boyd 1-4, Moore, Sh. 0-1), Hawaii 6-13 (Abele 3-4, Taylor 2-4, Toiaivao 1-1, Sanders 0-1, Crouch 0-1, Macfarlane 0-2). Personal fouls -- Louisiana Tech 23, Hawaii 18. Fouled out -- Crain, Grice.
Steals -- Louisiana Tech 8 (Barkus 3, DeCiman 2, Crain, Ray-Boyd, Kursh), Hawaii 9 (Abele 3, Sanders 2, Macfarlane 2, Grice, Toiaivao). Blocked shots -- Louisiana Tech 2 (Kursh, Moore, Ty.), Hawaii 8 (Grice 3, Toiaivao 3, Abele 2). Turnovers -- Louisiana Tech 17 (Taylor 4, Barkus 3, Crain 3, DeCiman 2, Kursh 2, Ray-Boyd, Moore, Sh., Moore, Ty.), Hawaii 21 (Abele 4, Sanders 4, Macfarlane 4, Grice 4, Toiaivao 3, Crouch, Lee). Officials -- Ensminger, Apo, Foutz. A -- 939.