Hawai'i trounces Sacramento St.

By Leila Wai
Special to The Advertiser

UH's Penny Jones is surrounded by Sacramento State players as she goes for a rebound. UH won, 79-53 Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Rainbow Wahine defeated Sacramento State, 79-53, last night at the Stan Sheriff Center in the finale of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic.

It wasn't difficult, considering the Hornets hold the nation's longest current losing streak: now at 39.

"Two things we said to our team is that we need to get better and we need to improve on things from our first game to our second game," Hawai'i coach Vince Goo said. "We tried to concentrate on those things. We also told them to have respect for your opponents, and respect ourselves. Don't come out and not give it your full intensity."

The Hornets took the first shot of the game — and missed — and after that it was all Hawai'i.

Overcoming some missed shots from the low post, the Rainbows allowed their defense to take over, holding the Hornets to a .311 shooting percentage. UH also outrebounded the Hornets, 52-34, led by the tournament's most valuable player Christen Roper, who had a game-high 15.

"We wanted to post up and get her deep in the key so we could neutralize her height, but I don't think we did a good job," Sacramento State coach Carolyn Jenkins said of Roper, who is 6 feet 5. The Hornets' tallest player is 6-3.

"She does a good job. She moves her feet and she reads the ball, and it is a credit to her, she uses her size well," Jenkins said.

The Rainbows shot 44 percent from the field, and 26 of their 29 baskets came off assists.

"It is our second game of the season, and you just have to look at it like any team can beat any other team on any given day," said Roper, who matched her career high with seven blocks.

Natasja Allen led Hawai'i with 18 points, and Roper and Jade Abele contributed 12 points each.

The Hornets got as close as 11-10 with 13:23 remaining, but a 22-3 Hawai'i run helped establish a 44-20 lead at the half. The Rainbow Wahine's largest lead of the game, 72-40, came with a little more than five minutes to play.

The lead allowed Hawai'i coach Vince Goo to go to his bench, playing 12 of his 13 players. The 13th — Kim Willoughby — is with the Hawai'i volleyball team. All contributed at least two points.

The Rainbow reserves accounted for 33 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists.

With less than five minutes to play, Hawai'i's lineup consisted of five freshmen: Trisha Nishimoto, Brittney Aiwohi, Callie Spooner, Amy Sanders and Penny Jones.

"I'm so glad, the freshmen that came in did so well," Allen said. "We were cheering them on, because we were there, too, and it is exciting when they get in and do well, too."

"It's a credit to Vince and his team. He's got some great kids on his team, he's got a lot of depth, and I think that made the difference," Jenkins said.

Hawai'i improved to 2-0 on the season, Sacramento State fell to 0-2.

All-Tournament: Michelle Greco, UCLA; Lisa Willis, UCLA; Jade Abele, Hawai'i; Natasja Allen, Hawai'i; April Atuaia, Hawai'i. MVP: Christen Roper, Hawai'i.

NOTES: The Hornets are tied with Chicago State for the second-longest losing streak in NCAA Division I history at 39. ... Sacramento State's last win was on Jan. 27, 2001, against Portland State. ... The record for consecutive losses belongs to Long Island (58). ... Long Island is in the Hawai'i Invitational, Dec. 20-21, which also features UNLV and Kentucky.