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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 12, 2003

Louisiana Tech too much for Rainbow Wahine

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The 12th-ranked Louisiana Tech women's basketball team continued its mastery over Hawai'i with a 60-52 Western Athletic Conference victory yesterday in Ruston, La.

Louisiana Tech's Cheryl Ford, left, tries to knock the ball away from Hawai'i's Christen Roper during the first half at Ruston, La.

Associated Press

At the Thomas Assembly Center, Amber Obaze scored 18 points and reigning WAC Player of the Year Cheryl Ford added 17 points and 14 rebounds for defending conference champion Louisiana Tech. Hawai'i's Jade Abele scored a game-high 19 points.

The Lady Techsters won their eighth straight and improved to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the WAC. Hawai'i lost its second straight WAC road game and fell to 8-5 and 2-2.

In nine games, Hawai'i has never defeated the Lady Techsters, who are ranked 12th in the Associated Press poll and 13th in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

Despite the loss, Hawai'i coach Vince Goo said he was pleased with his team's effort. Hawai'i took an early five-point lead in the first half, and rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second half to close to 53-48 with less than four minutes left to play.

"Tonight was a game where if you measure a victory or a defeat by the courage that your team plays with, and how they compete, then tonight was a win," Goo said. "We defended and we competed. We played with a lot of composure."

Louisiana Tech outrebounded Hawai'i 43-28, including 15-6 on the offensive glass. The Lady Techsters shot 25-of-60 (42 percent) for the game, while Hawai'i shot 19-of-52 (37 percent).

Louisiana Tech seized its largest lead of the game, 45-24, with 14:03 left in the second half, but watched Hawai'i rally. April Atuaia and Natasja Allen each scored six points during a 24-8 run to get the Rainbow Wahine to 53-48 with 3:41 left, but Hawai'i would not get any closer.

"We got a lot of deflected passes at the end," Goo said. "We put a run on, and we pushed it up the floor. We were down by 21 and we brought it down to five. We could have easily brought it down to three."

In the first half, Hawai'i jumped to an 8-3 lead in the first four minutes, but Louisiana Tech went on an 18-3 run to take a 21-11 lead with 6:45 left. During the spurt, Hawai'i had just one basket and one free throw by reserve forward Kim Willoughby.

Hawai'i all-conference center Christen Roper picked up two early fouls and went to the bench with 15:13 left in the first half. She finished with two points and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

Hawai'i cut the lead to 25-22 on Allen's first bucket of the game with 2:26 left. But the Lady Techsters went on an 8-0 run in the final 2:10 to grab their largest lead of the half, 33-22.

Goo said Roper's foul trouble limited her aggressiveness on offense, but allowed other players to step up against one of the top teams in the country.

"Other people picked up the slack," Goo said. "Kim and Natasja did a great job at the post for us."

Willoughby scored seven points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Allen and Atuaia added eight points each.

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