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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:17 p.m., Saturday, March 9, 2002

Wahine fall to Louisiana Tech in WAC championship

Advertiser Staff

Louisiana Tech, the eighth-ranked women's team in the country, scored a baseline jumper and a free throw in the last 47 seconds of the game to pull out a 53-50 victory over the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.

The victory automatically qualifies Louisiana Tech (25-4) for next week's NCAA Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine (23-7) hope to receive an at-large berth to the NCAA.

UH, which lost to Louisiana Tech in its two previous meetings, held a seven-point halftime lead and led 41-34 midway through the second half.

Louisiana Tech went on an 11-0 run for a 45-41 lead, but UH rallied to tie it at 45, with two points coming after a technical foul was assessed against Louisiana Tech. Chelsea Wagner hit a 3-pointer to put UH up 48-45 with about four minutes to play. Louisiana Tech went on a 5-0 run for a 50-48 lead, but Christen Roper's short jumper tied the game at 50 with 1:13 left.

Tech hit a jumper with 47 seconds left for a 52-50 lead, then added a free throw. UH had two opportunities to tie but missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds.