Idaho shoots past Wahine
POSTED: Saturday, February 28, 2009
A lights-out performance from Idaho—and the Stan Sheriff Center—darkened the evening of the Hawaii women's basketball team.
The Vandals sizzled before and after a power outage midway through the second half that stopped play at the Stan Sheriff for about 22 minutes. The delay didn't matter to the visitors, who rode 49 percent shooting to a 63-60 victory before a crowd of 338 last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
After the lights went out midway through the second half, the Rainbow Wahine surged back into the game with a 13-4 run to take a 60-58 lead. But the Vandals (12-13, 9-5 Western Athletic Conference) scored the game's final five points to secure their first season sweep of the eighth-place Wahine (6-21, 3-11).
Punahou graduate Shaena-Lyn Kuehu has been a key cog for the Vandals all season (averaging 10.2 points) and the freshman guard was a factor again last night, with nine of her 11 points in the first half.
She also grabbed a key offensive rebound when teammate Yinka Olorunnife missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 8.7 seconds left, keeping the ball in Idaho's possession on a jump ball. Rachele Kloke followed with a foul shot for the final margin and the Vandals took the ball from Dita Liepkalne as she drove upcourt in the final 6 seconds.
“;It felt great,”; Kuehu said. “;I like that my family are here. (The power outage) was odd, but we just went back and did our thing.”;
Conversely, the UH players walked off in a daze.
“;I don't know what happened,”; UH's Keisha Kanekoa said. “;(The loss) didn't sink in yet.”;
Kloke led Idaho off the bench with 20 points on a series of jumpers while UH couldn't stop the slashing drives of Derisa Taleni (16 points).
Idaho had never beaten the Wahine in eight previous tries until this season, when they pulled away for a 66-50 win in Moscow, Idaho, on Feb. 1.
Kanekoa led the Wahine with 16 points, five assists and six steals.
A six-person rotation for the Vandals paid dividends despite serious foul trouble for three of those players.
Acting UH head coach Pat Charity was frustrated her team couldn't take better advantage of it as the Wahine looked to pound the ball inside in the final minutes.
“;We couldn't capitalize on (their foul trouble), but we definitely had the shots in there,”; Charity said. “;We just couldn't score.”;
WAC Standings
| WAC | Overall | |||||
| W | L | Pct. | GB | W | L | |
| Fresno State | 10 | 3 | .769 | — | 19 | 7 |
| Louisiana Tech | 9 | 4 | .692 | 1 | 16 | 11 |
| Boise State | 9 | 5 | .643 | 1 1/2 | 16 | 12 |
| Idaho | 9 | 5 | .643 | 1 1/2 | 12 | 13 |
| Utah State | 8 | 5 | .615 | 2 | 14 | 12 |
| Nevada | 8 | 6 | .571 | 2 1/2 | 14 | 13 |
| New Mexico State | 5 | 9 | .357 | 5 1/2 | 9 | 19 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 11 | .214 | 7 1/2 | 6 | 21 |
| San Jose State | 1 | 14 | .067 | 10 | 2 | 26 |
Yesterday
Idaho 63, Hawaii 60
Boise State 56 San Jose State 45
Fresno State 65, Nevada 53
Today
Utah State at Louisiana Tech
Tomorrow
Boise State at Hawaii, 5 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Idaho 63, Hawaii 60
| Vandals (12-13, 9-5) | ||||||||
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| Olorunnife | 2-6 | 3-5 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Taleni | 8-15 | 0-1 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 33 |
| Otero | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 40 |
| Curtis | 1-4 | 0-0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| Kuehu | 4-8 | 2-2 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 40 |
| Doran | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kloke | 8-11 | 4-5 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 34 |
| Team | 3 | |||||||
| Totals | 25-51 | 9-13 | 34 | 14 | 63 | 8 | 23 | 200
|
| Rainbow Wahine (6-21, 3-11) | ||||||||
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| Liepkalne | 4-12 | 0-0 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Patterson | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Cho | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 37 |
| Tinnin | 4-9 | 0-0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 30 |
| Kanekoa | 7-15 | 2-2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 33 |
| Linton | 1-1 | 1-2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Hamilton | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Arbuckle | 4-11 | 6-6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Dew | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Jones | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Team | 4 | |||||||
| Totals | 23-60 | 9-10 | 31 | 17 | 60 | 17 | 19 | 200 |
Key—fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime—Idaho 28, Hawaii 26
3-point goals—Idaho 4-17 (Otero 2-4, Olorunnife 1-1, Kuehu 1-5, Doran 0-1, Kloke 0-1, Curtis 0-2, Taleni 0-3), Hawaii 5-13 (Tinnin 3-5, Liepkalne 1-3, Cho 1-3, Kanekoa 0-1, Hamilton 0-1).
Steals—Idaho 12 (Kuehu 3, Olorunnife 2, Otero 2, Curtis 2, Kloke 2, Taleni), Hawaii 12 (Kanekoa 6, Liepkalne 2, Cho, Tinnin, Hamilton, Arbuckle). Blocked shots—Idaho 6 (Taleni 3, Olorunnife, Kuehu, Kloke).
Officials—Carla Fujimoto, Shelley Nakasone, Tony Timmons. Attendance—338.
