Smith fuels UNLV's run at MWC tournament

Two double-doubles by Jamie Smith ('Iolani '08) have UNLV within two wins of the Mountain West Conference championship.

Smith, named the MWC Freshman of the Year on Monday, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds as the seventh-seeded Lady Rebels stunned third-seeded TCU 84-75 on Wednesday night. UNLV (14-17) faces second-seeded San Diego State in a tournament semifinal today at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Wednesday, Smith shot 7-for-12 from the field and hit two of four shots from behind the arc. She added two assists and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes.

“;I think that we just had a lot of confidence coming into the game,”; Smith said at the postgame news conference. “;It wasn't just one person hitting outside. Everybody was hitting outside. Everyone was grabbing rebounds.”;

Smith leads the MWC in rebounds and is the top freshman rebounder in the country.

It's the Lady Rebels' fourth win in their last five games and sixth trip to the MWC semifinals. TCU had won both meetings in the regular season, including a 29-point blowout on Feb. 10.

“;We made some adjustments to our zone offense,”; UNLV coach Kathy Oliver said. “;The players really listened, came in and hit some big shots, which opened it up for the inside game. Jamie and Shamela (Hampton) took advantage of that.”;

Smith had 18 points and 15 rebounds in UNLV's 66-58 win over BYU in the first round Tuesday.

Smith is just the second Lady Rebel to earn conference Freshman of the Year honors. Linda Frohlich did so in 1998-99 in the Western Athletic Conference.

» Idaho freshman Shaena-Lyn Kuehu (Punahou '08) had six rebounds, three points and three assists as Idaho lost a 59-58 heartbreaker in overtime to Utah State in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Wednesday at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.

Kuehu was named to the WAC all-freshman team on Sunday. She was the leader among WAC freshmen in scoring (11.8), rebounding (5.5), field-goal percentage (.447), 3-point percentage (.389), 3-pointers made (1.75) and steals (1.94) per game.

» Pepperdine senior Taylor Smith (Kalaheo '05) went 3-for-4 from the 3-point line and had a game-high 16 points, but the third-seeded Waves were upset by sixth-seeded San Diego 78-69 in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament Saturday in Las Vegas.

Women's Golf

» UCLA freshman Stephanie Kono (Punahou '08) shot a final round 6-under 66 to win the UCF Challenge on Tuesday in Sorrento, Fla. Kono made seven birdies, including four in her last seven holes, to vault from 12th place to first on the final day. She finished 8 under for the tournament to win by one stroke.

» Puget Sound sophomore Natalie Nakamine (Roosevelt '07) and Willamette senior Whitney Ueno (Hilo '05) finished 1-2 at the Logger Open in Fircrest, Wash. Nakamine finished the two-day tournament at 16-over 166, while Ueno finished seven strokes behind her.

Baseball

» Southern Utah junior first baseman Bucky Aona (Punahou '06) went 2-for-4 in an 8-3 loss against Brigham Young on Tuesday. Kasey Ko (Punahou '05) went 1-for-4 with a double for the Cougars. Chester Wilson (Saint Louis '05) and Nick Freitas (Kamehameha '05) each scored for the Thunderbirds.

» Arizona State freshman Jeeter Ishida (Punahou '08) kept his season ERA at 0.00 after tossing two shutout innings in a 12-1 win over Holy Cross last Friday. Ishida allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two.

Softball

» Charina Sumner (Kamehameha '06) finished 4-for-11 with six runs scored and two stolen bases as East Carolina finished 3-1 in the Pirate Classic. Marina Gusman-Brown (Pearl City '06) doubled, homered and had three RBIs and two stolen bases and Cristen Aona (Punahou '06) had two doubles and a triple. Kaui Tom (Kamehameha '06) played in two of the four games, finishing 1-for-6 with two RBIs.