Advertiser Staff
FRESNO, Calif. — Seniors Crystal Lee and Kylie Galloway helped the University of Hawai‘i break away from Fresno State in the final 3:20 last night, lifting the Wahine to a 65-60 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory.
Hawai‘i weathered an early flurry of Fresno State 3-pointers — and a rowdy crowd of 701 at North Gym — to take a 41-31 halftime advantage, scoring 13 of the final 15 points. But its offense barely appeared in the second half, when it shot just 25 percent and had more free throws (8) than field goals (7).
"It was all defense because we were not doing much offensively," UH coach Vince Goo said. "I think we had one basket in the first eight minutes of the second half. But they were missing, too. We defended really well, especially their point guard (Lindsay Logan). Janka (Gabrielova) did a great job."
The Bulldogs overtook UH 48-47, but Lee scored on a drive and Hawai‘i (15-4, 6-2 WAC) rebuilt its edge to 58-52. After a series of poor shots and ballhandling errors, Fresno State’s Laura Paukert dropped in consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game with 3:42 remaining.
Lee came right back with a drive and basket to give the Wahine a lead they would not relinquish. After several missed shots, including a Paukert air ball, Galloway dropped in a 3-pointer to put Hawai‘i up 63-58 with 1:45 left. Logan’s breakaway basket a minute later was Fresno State’s last points.
"Our second halves have not been great all three road games," Goo said. "We just don’t score much. But the defense has been consistent for 40 minutes and that’s always gratifying. The offense is a little scary."
Lee finished with her first double-double of the season — 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Gabrielova added 15 points and seven assists. Logan had 20 points, but only five in the second half , and eight assists.
The Wahine play in Reno, Nev., tomorrow for the first time since winning the Big West championship in 1996. The 9 a.m. (HST) game against Nevada will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net (Oceanic cable 21) and KCCN (1420 AM).
"Nevada is very, very good at home," Goo said. "They have a very good offense — all five of them can score. They’re good and Reno’s got elevation (4,200 feet). It’s a hard place to play."
 OVER AND BACK: The Wahine have an 11-game winning streak against Fresno State. ... Nevada will attempt to set a state attendance record for women’s basketball tomorrow. The record is 3,754 set at UNLV — against Hawaii — in 1985. ... The Wolf Pack (12-8, 5-3) are 9-1 at home after blasting San Jose State last night. They average a WAC-best 72 points a game. UN sophomore Kate Smith is second in WAC scoring, at nearly 19 points a game. ... Nevada freshman Ashlee Orndorff, who leads the WAC in rebounding with more than 10 a game, quit the team last week.
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