UH women beat Gonzaga to finish third in tourney

Hawaii rebounded from a poor performance on Saturday to beat Gonzaga 68-57 yesterday in the third-place game of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.

In the championship showdown at the Stan Sheriff Center, No. 2 North Carolina showed it was the undisputed class of the classic by dealing Arkansas its first loss of the season 94-69.

The Rainbow Wahine (3-2 overall, 2-1 tourney) were led by the double-double efforts of seniors Pam Tambini and Brittany Grice, both with 18 points and 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

Senior point guard Janevia Taylor just missed a double-double with her 11 points and nine assists.

"We said we had to win this game because we knew we were capable of winning," said Tambini, who is battling the flu and had an IV before the game. "It would have been very disappointing to lose because of the potential we have. We stuck together better today."

The Hawaii offense had been anything but together in Saturday's loss to Arkansas, but that was corrected yesterday.

In the shootaround prior to the game yesterday, the Wahine spent a lot of time going over their offensive plays.

"Coach was mad (about Saturday's offensive breakdowns). All we did was review our offense. We had to worry about our own stuff first," Taylor said.

"We were worried about Gonzaga's intensity. We watched them play and we knew they never give up and they beat UCLA. We had to match their intensity level and we did that."

The Wahine took a 13-1 lead in the opening 8 minutes, with Tambini scoring seven of those points.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 1-2) missed their first 11 field-goal attempts and didn't connect until Stephanie Hawk hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 11:03 left in the first half.

"We came out and played very aggressive in the first half. Then, at the half, we said we need that same intensity for the first 5 minutes of the second half," said UH coach Jim Bolla.

Two baskets in the paint by Grice and three free throws by the 6-foot-4 center helped Hawaii go up 22-11 with 7:01 on the clock.

"It was man-to-man all the way. It's the first time we've done that. We matched up really well," said Grice, who was able to score inside early or make her free throws (eight of 10) when fouled.

The teams would trade points the rest of the half, leaving UH with a 30-19 lead.

The Bulldogs scored quickly on Hawk's jumper in the paint to start the second half. UH responded with two layups by Tanya Smith. Then, following a free throw by Gonzaga's Heather Bowman, the Bulldogs applied full-court pressure.

UH broke the press with fast-break layups by Saundra Cariaga and Tambini for a 38-22 lead, then weathered one final spurt by Gonzaga.

Trailing by 19 points (52-31), the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run to cut their deficit to 11 points (54-43) with 7:31 to play, but that was as close as they would come to catching the Wahine.

"It was a hard-fought game by both teams. We're 3-2 and our two losses are to pretty good teams," Bolla said. "I think we did much better in transition and when they pressured us, we got the two quick layups."

Grice added, "We still need to have a complete game."

Taylor was the only Wahine player named to the all-tournament team. She was joined by Erlana Larkins (MVP), Camille Little and Ivory Latta of North Carolina; Lindsey Pluimer of UCLA; Alesha Robertson of Texas Tech; Michelle Elliott of Gonzaga and Donica Cosby of Arkansas.

No. 2 North Carolina 94, Arkansas 69

The Tar Heels (6-0, 3-0) averaged 98 points in their three wins. Six players scored in double figures yesterday, led by tournament Erlana Larkins with 17.

Ahead by just seven points (46-39) at the half, the Tar Heels pushed the lead to 11 on a pair of jumpers by LaToya Pringle in the first minute of the second half. With one 13-second exception, UNC kept the Lady Razorbacks (7-1, 2-1) trailing by double digits the rest of the way.

"Whenever they came down and made a layup that just fired us up and we responded with a layup," said UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell.

"In the second half we were able to go inside more and penetrate with the dribble."

Arkansas' leading scorer was Dominique Washington with 16.

Texas Tech 75, No. 21 UCLA 60

The Lady Raiders (5-1, 2-1) outscored the Bruins (3-4, 1-2) 20-6 over the last 6:51 of the first half for a comfortable 43-26 lead at the break. Texas Tech increased the lead to 25 points (75-50) with 5 minutes to play in winning the consolation championship.

Alesha Robertson led four Lady Raiders in double figures with 17 points. Erin Myrick had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Noelle Quinn led the Bruins with 16 points.

Denver 60, Sacramento State 31

The Pioneers (2-2, 1-2) built an 18-point lead at halftime en route to victory in the seventh-place game. Denver got 15 points and 14 rebounds from junior guard Alisha Godette.

Atty Boyer led the Hornets (1-6, 0-3), who missed 18 of 19 3-point attempts, with 10 points.

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