GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Keisha Kanekoa of Hawaii put up a shot over Shordy Mulford of Louisiana Tech last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Wahine close out Lady Techsters

After an effective start, Hawaii earned the gritty finish it's been searching for.

The Rainbow Wahine basketball team withstood a fervent Louisiana Tech press in the final 10 minutes and won 84-77 before a crowd of 294 last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Freshman Keisha Kanekoa helped Hawaii (12-16, 6-9 Western Athletic Conference) to the wire-to-wire victory with a career-high 24 points off the bench.

She and fellow guard Amy Kotani combined to go 9-for-11 at the free-throw line in the final 4 minutes to close out the game. It was a performance that Hawaii had lacked in previous home games it had led near the end.

"I think we did a really good job tonight," Kanekoa said. "We talked about let's not have the same thing with all these other games. Just that last stretch we always seem to fall apart. We all just stuck in it together and said we're going to close out this game. It's our (next-to-last) home game, I think we're pumped up."

Kanekoa scored 12 points in the first half on 4-for-6 shooting, including two 3-pointers. She nailed an off-balance trey curling around a screen at the halftime buzzer to give the Wahine a 35-31 lead at the break.

Saundra Cariaga and Kotani added 13 points apiece, while Tanya Smith posted her 19th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

When Kanekoa entered the game in the first half, coach Jim Bolla advised her to take advantage of pick-and-rolls.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Ebony Jones put up a shot against Louisiana Tech's JoKeirra Sneed during last night's 84-77 Wahine win at the Stan Sheriff Center. Sneed was ejected from the game late in the first half after tangling with Jones as the two went after a loose ball.

A 14-4 lead to start things off certainly helped.

"To me, the score doesn't indicate how we played this game -- I thought we really had control of this game for 90 percent of it," Bolla said. "We got off to a good start, we made some 3s, we were aggressive. Down the end we made it interesting, but I still felt we had control of the game."

Coupled with Utah State's loss to Boise State, the Wahine moved into sole possession of sixth place with a game to play. The Wahine earned their first victory against a winning WAC team, and can duplicate the feat tomorrow when they host New Mexico State on senior night.

Kanekoa's efforts led to a 36-18 Wahine advantage in bench points, and Hawaii outrebounded the top board-hoarding team in the WAC by two. That was largely thanks to the ejection of the Lady Techsters' top scorer and rebounder, JoKeirra Sneed, with less than 3 minutes left in the first half.

Sneed put up 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half to lead the Lady Techsters early. But she got tangled up with Hawaii's Ebony Jones going for a loose ball, and she lashed out with an arm in retaliation.

"I was going for a loose ball, and I guess she got agitated and wanted to fight," said Jones, who put up six points and three assists before fouling out.

Jones said she hadn't made previous contact with Sneed.

It was originally called a technical foul, but after reviewing the play at Bolla's request, the officials hit her with a flagrant foul and an ejection, leaving Tech without its leading scorer and rebounder. At the time, no other Tech player had more than five points or three rebounds.

With no Sneed to start the second half, Hawaii capitalized with baskets inside to take a 45-34 lead.

Tech rallied from a 15-4 Hawaii run and 14-point deficit, clawing to 69-65 with 5 minutes left and 73-70 on a fast-break layup by Tiawana Pringle.

Cariaga answered with a clutch 3-pointer when LaTech curiously left her alone beyond the arc to make it a multi-possession game, and Hawaii's guards handled their trips to the free-throw line with aplomb.

Shanavia Dowdell played well in the second half in Sneed's stead, finishing with 19 points and five rebounds. Three other Techsters scored in double figures.

The win is only Hawaii's third against the Lady Techsters (14-14, 8-7 WAC) in 21 meetings. The Techsters, who have won or shared the regular-season WAC title the last two years, hadn't dropped a game to a team with a losing record this season until last night.

WAC standings

Yesterday
Boise State 65, Utah State 57
Fresno State 68, New Mexico State 52
Hawaii 84, Louisiana Tech 77

Hawaii 84, Louisiana Tech 77

Rainbow Wahine (12-16, 6-9 WAC)

Key -- fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fould; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime -- Hawaii 35, Louisiana Tech 31

3-point goals -- Louisiana Tech 8-18 (Stewart 3-6, Pringle 2-3, Wysinger 1-1, Dowdell 1-2, Levingston 1-6), Hawaii 8-14 (Kanekoa 3-4, Tinnin 2-4, Kotani 1-2, Cariaga 1-2, Liepkalne 1-2).

Steals -- Louuisiana Tech 5 (Pringle 2, Sneed, Levingston, Wysinger), Hawaii 12 (Kotani 4, Tinnin 3, Cariaga 2, Hittle, Liepkalne, Kanekoa). Blocked shots -- Louisiana Tech 6 (Dowdell 3, Warren 2, Johnson), Hawaii 1 (Hittle).

Officials --Carla Fujimoto, Kent Johnson, Brian Hall. A-- 1,500.