Another early exit
The cold-shooting Wahine are bounced from the WAC tournament in the first round again
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. » Hawaii's worst shooting night of the season couldn't have come at a worse time.
In yet another frustrating conclusion, the Rainbow Wahine went cold from the field in a 55-40 loss to host New Mexico State last night in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Sixth-seeded Hawaii (12-18) shot a season-low 26 percent and posted its lowest point total of the year in losing its WAC tournament opener for the fifth straight year.
"I didn't get to go past the first round all four years," UH senior Tanya Smith lamented. "Maybe next year they'll get to do it."
Smith ended her four-year run with Hawaii by posting her 33rd career double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Tara Hittle shared team-high honors with 11 points.
But the Wahine went 5-for-29 from the field in the first half, falling behind 23-14 at the break, and couldn't make up the ground in the second half.
UH, the WAC's top 3-point shooting team entering the tournament, went 2-for-14 from beyond the arc last night.
The Wahine committed a season-low 16 turnovers, but the improvement in that category was negated by their shooting woes.
NMSU freshman guard Madison Spence led all scorers with 20 points and the Aggies advanced to the semifinals despite shooting 35 percent.
Forward Sherell Neal finished with 12 points and 13 boards as the third-seeded Aggies (22-8) outrebounded UH 48-34 in defeating the Wahine for the third time this season.
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. » Yet again, the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine were left to look toward next year rather than the next round in the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Sixth-seeded Hawaii couldn't get the ball to drop through the net and dropped out of the tournament with a 55-40 quarterfinal loss to third-seeded New Mexico State last night at the Pan American Center.
Hawaii has gone one-and-out in five straight WAC tournaments, and for the second consecutive year the Wahine saved their worst shooting night for last.
The Wahine finally got a handle on the turnover bug that had trailed them throughout the season, giving the ball away a season-low 16 times. But that improvement was negated by 26 percent shooting from the field as UH posted its lowest point total of the season.
"It was frustrating because we were finally getting the shots that we hadn't been getting all year and we just couldn't get anything to drop for us," UH coach Jim Bolla said.
Senior forward Tanya Smith and junior Tara Hittle led Hawaii with 11 points each, combining for half of UH's 14 field goals as the Wahine ended the season at 12-18.
The outcome mirrored last year's 72-47 quarterfinal loss to Fresno State, when the Wahine shot 26.5 percent on the same rims that bedeviled them last night.
Despite going 5-for-29 (17 percent) in the first half, the Wahine were able to stay within striking distance against an NMSU team with scoring issues of its own.
But the Aggies strung a few buckets together to take a 23-14 lead into halftime and held off the Wahine after the break to defeat UH for the third time this season and the second time in less than a week.
"Ugly game, but to me the uglier the better," NMSU coach Darin Spence said four days after the Aggies rallied to a 59-58 win in Honolulu.
"I thought both teams played hard, both teams struggled at times to score points. ... I think we just had more breaks than they did and we played in a few more spurts than they did."
UH closed to within seven twice in the second half, but NMSU responded each time the Wahine made a push.
Freshman guard Madison Spence delivered some of the most damaging blows on her way to a game-high 20 points. Her 3-pointer with 5:02 left gave NMSU a 13-point lead and UH didn't threaten again.
"We'd start to get on a roll and then we'd have a mishap on defense and someone would hit a 3 and it's such a heartbreaker," Smith said.
"We just could never get a run going," Bolla said.
All-WAC forward Sherell Neal finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Aggies (22-8) outrebounded UH 48-34 and advanced to the semifinals.
With a five-member senior class departing with last night's loss, the UH coaching staff will soon turn its focus to restocking the roster for next season.
"We've got a core that's coming back and you hope you learn through these experiences," Bolla said. "But this is going to be a really important recruiting year for us. We've got an additional five scholarships to give. So next year's team is going to be a whole different makeup."
NMSU 55, Hawaii 40
RAINBOW WAHINE ( WAC)
|
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min
|
| Hittle |
3-11 |
4-4 |
6 |
2 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
33
|
| Smith |
4-12 |
3-4 |
11 |
3 |
11 |
2 |
2 |
34
|
| Tinnin |
1-7 |
0-0 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
24
|
| Kotani |
0-4 |
0-0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
21
|
| Cariaga |
2-6 |
2-2 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
37
|
| Cho |
0-0 |
1-1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
| Liepkalne |
0-2 |
0-0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14
|
| Galdones |
0-1 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5
|
| Kanekoa |
4-8 |
0-0 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
23
|
| Jones |
0-3 |
0-0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
8
|
| TEAM |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
14-54 |
10-11 |
34 |
19 |
40 |
6 |
16 |
200 |
AGGIES (WAC)
|
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min
|
| Neal |
4-11 |
4-6 |
13 |
2 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
48
|
| Jawara |
1-12 |
2-4 |
12 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
31
|
| Denning |
1-2 |
0-0 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
25
|
| Spence |
8-15 |
2-2 |
3 |
0 |
20 |
4 |
0 |
33
|
| Walton |
0-3 |
1-2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
23
|
| Spanich |
2-4 |
0-0 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
17
|
| Bribiescas |
1-6 |
0-1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
16
|
| Corbert |
1-1 |
0-1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
| Kmitaite-Smtih |
2-4 |
3-4 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
15
|
| Totals |
20-58 |
12-20 |
48 |
13 |
55 |
9 |
12 |
200 |
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 -- NMSU 23, Hawaii 14
3-point goals -- Hawaii 2-14 (Tinnin 1-7, Cariaga 1-2, Kotani 0-3, Liepkalne 0-1, Kanekoa 0-1), NMSU 3-11(Spence 2-4, Spanich 1-1, Bribiescas 0-4, Neal 0-1, Kmitaite-Smith 0-1).
Steals -- Hawaii 5 (Tinnin 4, Smith), NMSU 10 (Neal 4, Jawara, Denning, Spence, Walton, Bribiescas, Kmitaite-Smith). Blocked shots -- Hawaii 4 (Neal 2, Spanich, Denning, NMSU 3 (Smith, Kanekoa, Jones).
Officials -- Melissa Barlow, Gator Parrish, Peter Contreras. A-- NA.
WAC tournament results
Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 82, Nevada 56
Fresno State 87, San Jose State 76
New Mexico State 55, Hawaii 40
Boise State 61, Utah State 47
