Wahine find bright spots in loss to Fresno State
POSTED: Sunday, February 07, 2010
They can build on this.
True, Western Athletic Conference leader Fresno State beat Hawaii again, 78-69, before a crowd of 779 yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
But it was nothing like the 41-point demolition issued by the Bulldogs in Fresno, Calif., last month. Hawaii (9-13, 3-6) hung right with Fresno (18-5, 9-0) for 30 minutes in a physical battle of wills.
Leilani Galdones scored a career-high 20 and Keisha Kanekoa added 14 and eight assists against seven turnovers for UH, which pulled within 72-66 on Galdones' final points with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left.
Dita Liepkalne had a corner 3-point attempt that could have cut it to three with a minute left, but her shot was too strong and forward Breanna Arbuckle fouled out at the other end while trying to take a charge.
Fresno State made six of eight free throws from there to seal it.
“;We're very pleased with the effort put forth tonight,”; Hawaii coach Dana Takahara-Dias said. “;What a gritty performance. ... Sure, we have a loss tonight. But I really felt we won in a lot of departments.”;
Superior FSU depth and athleticism eventually took their toll on the Wahine, who committed 16 of their 23 turnovers in the first half but stayed close with superior shooting.
“;We knew we could hang with them, and we all thought we could beat them,”; Galdones said. “;But it just came down to defensive stops in the end. We just couldn't get that stop.”;
UH fell into a three-way tie for sixth place, while FSU, the two-time WAC champs, won their 10th straight to continue their record start in league play.
The Wahine outscored the Bulldogs 14-8 to open the second half to go ahead 44-43, but FSU gradually established the momentum again with its drives and quick-strike passing.
Fresno State junior Jaleesa Ross scored 22 points and collected seven steals to move past Aiea graduate Aritta Lane and Simone Strubek for seventh on the team career scoring list. Forward Hayley Munro scored a game-high 24.
The Wahine scored the last four points of the first half to come within 35-30 at the break.
Fresno state 78, Hawaii 69
| Bulldogs (18-5, 9-0 WAC) | ||||||||
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| Munro | 5-14 | 13-15 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 29 |
| Moult | 1-3 | 1-2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 29 |
| Filipe | 0-4 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Ross | 9-20 | 2-2 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
| Fears | 4-7 | 2-2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 27 |
| Edwards | 2-4 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Arnold | 3-6 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| Andrews | 1-4 | 2-4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Drennan | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| TEAM | 3 | |||||||
| Totals | 26-64 | 22-29 | 34 | 14 | 78 | 10 | 15 | 200
|
| Rainbow Wahine (9-13, 3-6 WAC) | ||||||||
| fg-a | ft-a | rb | pf | pts | a | to | min | |
| Liepkalne | 2-8 | 2-2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 31 |
| Arbuckle | 4-5 | 3-6 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 32 |
| Patterson | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| Galdones | 6-11 | 6-6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| Kanekoa | 6-15 | 2-3 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 40 |
| Linton | 2-7 | 2-2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| Bungaite | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Dew | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| TEAM | 4 | |||||||
| Totals | 25-54 | 16-21 | 29 | 20 | 69 | 12 | 23 | 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— Fresno State 35, Hawaii 30
3-point goals— Fresno State 4-16 (Ross 2-9, Moult 1-2, Munro 1-2), Hawaii 3-9 (Galdones 2-4, Bungaite 1-1).
Steals— Fresno State 13 (Ross 7, Munro 3, Arnold 2, Moult), Hawaii 5 (Liepkalne, Patterson, Galdones, Kanekoa, Linton). Blocked shots— Fresno State 4 (Filipe 2, Moult, Arnold), Hawaii 3 (Arbuckle, Patterson, Galdones).
A—1643.
WAC Women's Basketball Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | All |
| Fresno State | 9 | 0 | 1.000 | — | 18-5 |
| Nevada | 7 | 2 | .778 | 2 | 13-10 |
| Louisiana Tech | 6 | 3 | .667 | 3 | 15-6 |
| New Mexico State | 5 | 4 | .556 | 4 | 15-8 |
| Idaho | 3 | 5 | .375 | 5 1/2 | 5-16 |
| Boise State | 3 | 6 | .333 | 6 | 14-9 |
| Utah State | 3 | 6 | .333 | 6 | 11-11 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 6 | .333 | 6 | 9-13 |
| San Jose State | 1 | 8 | .111 | 8 | 5-17 |
Yesterday
Fresno State 78, Hawaii 69
Nevada 72, San Jose State 48
Louisiana Tech 74, Utah State 52
New Mexico State 85, Boise State 76
Wednesday
New Mexico State at Hawaii
Nevada at Boise State
Idaho at Fresno State
Thursday
Utah State at San Jose State
