No big upset for Wahine

The Hawaii women's basketball team kept 880 fans thinking and hoping that a second major upset would occur at the Stan Sheriff Center yesterday.

The Rainbow Wahine led No. 22 Southern California 40-37 at the half, but could not regain the lead once USC took the lead with 16:14 left in the game on Jamie Hagiya's 3-pointer.

The Wahine came up short in the second half of the season opener for both teams and lost to the Women of Troy 80-71 in the first game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic last night.

"We were horrendous in the second half (9-for-35) from the field. We just didn't execute (our offense). We never ran one play all the way through in the second half," UH coach Jim Bolla said.

"They did a good job of scouting us and took away one or two of our first options. We just stopped playing and people tried to create, and we're not that good a team to create and go one-on-one. USC can do that.

"They got four to six uncontested, fast-break layups on us in the second half. That really hurt. I accept responsibility for not having them ready. It was a rough first game, but a good learning experience for us."

Neither team managed a basket for almost 3 minutes before Janevia Taylor's jumper tied the score with 12:55 left and Callie Spooner's layup off a quick pass from Dalia Solia at the top of the key gave the Wahine a lead at the 12:24 mark they held until the half.

The Wahine, who solved the USC press early in the first half, did not have the same success to start the second half.

"We got frazzled. We weren't were using our heads, and I take a lot of responsibility for that," said Sanders. "I didn't handle the ball very well, especially in the second half. We can't have a senior out there making turnovers."

Three turnovers and three steals in the first 5 minutes helped the Women of Troy put together a 16-7 run for a 53-47 lead.

Sanders broke a 12-3 run by USC with a basket with 14:02 remaining, but Nadia Parker scored off a steal at 12:31 to keep the USC lead at six points, 55-49.

Hawaii cut the deficit to three, 59-56, on two free throws by Smith, but Murphy scored consecutive layups, the second off a steal at midcourt, and Meghan Gnekow's free throw gave USC its biggest lead, 64-56 with 8:43 left.

Through the first 13 1/2 minutes of the second half, the Wahine made just five of 23 (.217) field-goal attempts, while the Women of Troy sank 12 of 27 (.307).

"We panicked in the moment and we shouldn't have," said Taylor. "We got down and started to do things out of character. It came down to we lost focus in the second half and didn't do the stuff we were supposed to."

A layup by Sanders and Solia's jumper from the right side cut USC's lead to five points (75-70) with 2:38 left, but the Wahine could not buy another bucket. Forced to foul, the Wahine watched LeNoir make five of six free throws in the final minute to keep the lead comfortable.

Sanders led all scorers with 20 points. Taylor had 15 and Smith came off the bench to add 12. Murphy led four USC players in double figures with 15 points.

The tournament continues today when USC plays Eastern Illinois at 5 p.m. and concludes when Hawaii meets Eastern Illinois tomorrow at 6 p.m.