RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Saundra Cariaga hugged Tanya Smith during senior night ceremonies following their game against New Mexico State.

Somber sendoff

The Wahine suffer a last-second loss in the seniors' home finale

It's payback time.

New Mexico State spoiled Hawaii's senior night with a 59-58 theft at the Stan Sheriff Center after the Rainbow Wahine had led nearly wire-to-wire.

The Aggies took their first lead of the game with 11.8 seconds left, and Saundra Cariaga's leaner with about five seconds left clanged off the rim. Hawaii was unable to secure the rebound and NMSU celebrated before a stunned crowd.

Now, the Wahine have a chance for vengeance when they play the Aggies on their home floor in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday.

Cariaga, one of five Wahine seniors buried in a pile of leis after the game, can't wait for it.

"Definitely -- I want one more shot at them," she said. "We just took what they gave us, and that was there. We couldn't capitalize on that shot, but that's all right --you win some, you lose some."

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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM The Wahine's Tara Hittle went up for a shot over New Mexico State's Sherell Neal last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The message sat in the mailbox, but was never delivered.

On senior night, Hawaii led by as many as 19 points and had its opponent on the ropes almost the entire game until a New Mexico State basket with 11.8 seconds gave the Aggies a 59-58 edge, and the visitors stole a heartbreaker last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Senior Saundra Cariaga's tough runner caromed off the backboard and rim following a timeout and the Wahine were unable to grab the offensive rebound as time expired.

It was a perfect opportunity for Hawaii (12-17, 6-10 Western Athletic Conference) to keep the Aggies reeling entering next week's WAC tournament in Las Cruces, N.M., when the two teams will match up again on Wednesday.

After a flurry of second-half turnovers, miscommunication and frustration, it is now the Wahine who must regroup for their matchup with the tournament hosts on their home court. The Aggies (21-8, 11-5 WAC) defeated Hawaii there 71-53 in January, and completed the season sweep in outscoring the Wahine 35-20 in the second half.

"We're there. We're right there, knocking on the door," coach Jim Bolla said. "We had opportunities -- that's how simple it is, it came down to two possessions.

"The positive out of it is, we showed we could play with them," he added. "It's going to be at their place, but so what? Are we happy? No. Are we satisfied? No. We're going to build on that going into the tournament."

Once the Aggies finished celebrating at midcourt and headed to the locker rooms, Hawaii's five seniors -- Cariaga, Tanya Smith, Amy Kotani, Iwona Zagrobelna, and Shannon Nishi -- were traditionally honored.

"I wish it turned out differently, all of us wish that," Kotani said. "I came out fired up. One last chance, the last time. Go all out, I guess ... we should have had them."

Junior forward Tara Hittle led the way with a strong post effort of 16 points (a career high) and 13 rebounds. Kotani added 11 points and Cariaga 10, while Smith grabbed 10 rebounds, but struggled offensively.

The seniors were relatively upbeat after the tough loss - friends, family, and fans helped cheer them up.

"This feeling is like, an out-of-body experience," a lei-clad Smith said. "In my heart, I did not think I would make it to this day. I just had a tough time (freshman year). You go through things in life that are hard, and it makes you a better person. I'm thankful for everything I've gone through here."

The Wahine nailed seven first-half 3-pointers to take a 38-24 lead at halftime.

But in the second half, NMSU denied Hawaii its source of strength, and doubled and tripled Hittle and Smith in the post. Hawaii couldn't solve the riddle in shooting 26.1 percent, and a steady dose of post moves by Anikia Jawara (20 points) and 10 points each from Sherell Neal, Madison Spence, and Danisha Corbett doomed the Wahine in the end.

Perhaps what hurt the most were four straight missed free throws by Kotani and Megan Tinnin in the final minute when the Aggies went to fouling to close the gap. Each miss elicited a groan from the season-high crowd of 764.

After the first two missed free throws, Spence nailed a cold-blooded 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity to pull the Aggies within 58-57 with 31.8 seconds left.

Following two more missed Wahine foul shots, NMSU scored on a nice pass from Anikia Jawara to Danisha Corbett inside to take their first -- and only -- lead of the game.

"I felt like we still had it, just gotta keep going, kind of thing," Kotani said.

The teams were locked in to their respective seeds before tipoff. Utah State's loss to lowly Idaho sealed the sixth seed for Hawaii, while Fresno State's defeat of Nevada clinched the third seed for the Aggies and the regular-season WAC title for the Bulldogs.

The Wahine rotated exceptionally well around screens in their defense early, pressuring NMSU into 27 percent shooting in the first half and 35.9 percent for the game. On the other hand, 26 Wahine turnovers at the end of the night hurt.

On the other end of the floor, Hawaii opened up with 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range and the early lead ballooned to 29-13 on a four-point play -- on a banked trey -- by Tinnin.

Hawaii's two point guards, Kotani and Keisha Kanekoa, combined to shoot 6-for-7 from long range, including five makes before the break.

The Aggies finally countered by closing out on the 3-point arc and outscored Hawaii 29-9 in a run spanning both halves.

"I am pissed. They're beatable," Smith said. "We had them, if we cut down on the turnovers, we had it. Next game we'll get them."

WAC standings

NMSU 59, Hawaii 58

Rainbow Wahine (12-17, 6-10 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 38, NMSU 24

3-point goals -- NMSU 2-15 (Bribiescas 1-4, Spence 1-5, Kmitaite-Smith 0-2, Corbett 0-2, Spanich, Walton), Hawaii 8-14(Kotani 3-3, Kanekoa 3-4, Tinnin 1-3, Cariaga 1-3, Liepkalne 0-1).

Steals -- NMSU 11 (Jawara 3, Neal 2, Walton 2, Corbett 2, Kmitaite-Smith, Denning), Hawaii 10 (Hittle 3, Kotani 3, Tinnin 2, Smith, Jones). Blocked shots -- NMSU 4 (Neal 2, Spanich, Denning, Hawaii 3 (Smith, Kanekoa, Jones).

Officials -- Kent Johnson, Carla Fujimoto, Brian Hall. A-- 764.