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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 21, 2003

Arizona State bounces UH from Women's NIT

By Jeff Metcalfe
Special to The Advertiser

Arizona State guard Iman Young takes a shot against Hawai'i during a Women's NIT first-round game at Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils eliminated the Rainbow Wahine, 57-44.

Associated Press

TEMPE, Ariz. — Experience and blocked shots weren't enough for the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine last night.

Instead young Arizona State, with three starters and six players in all making its postseason debut, controlled the second half of a 57-44 win at Wells Fargo Arena.

Arizona State (16-13) moves into the WNIT quarterfinals at Baylor (21-10) on Sunday. Hawai'i fell to 3-8 on the road in finishing 16-14.

"We played a very young team, but I'm going to say this, the Pac-10 had better watch out for this team next year and over the next 2-3 years," Hawai'i coach Vince Goo said. "They're already good and they're going to get better. They're very well coached and they do a lot of good things fundamentally on both ends of the floor."

Arizona State's pressure defense that limited Hawai'i's perimeter to a combined 12 points.

The Sun Devils also had enough of a transition game to wear on the Rainbow Wahine, who trailed just 22-18 at halftime

"The whole WNIT is about home team," said Goo, whose team was in the consolation tourney for a fourth consecutive year. "We went to the final one year (2001) and we had three home games. Whoever gets to play at home has a huge, huge advantage because this comes at the end of the season and there is a lot of wear and tear. Those who get to eat home cooking and sleep in their bed have the big advantage.

"We were hoping they could come over and have a luau in Hawai'i, but they didn't buy that."

Arizona State, 13-4 at home, improves to 2-0 all-time against the Rainbow Wahine, having won in Hawai'i two years ago.

Yesterday, freshman Jill Noe and Kristen Kovesdy led the way with a combined 35 points and 16 rebounds although the unsung hero was sophomore guard Carrie Buckner.

Buckner, playing with a second-degree ankle sprain suffered in practice Sunday, started and played her usual stellar defense. She limited April Atuaia to eight points while chipping in four points, six rebounds and three steals.

Noe hit two of her four 3-pointers to start the second half helping the Sun Devils extend their halftime lead to 40-30 with 8:57 remaining.

Hawai'i could not get closer than six after that despite a combined 32 points from the front line of Christen Roper, Jade Abele and, off the bench, Kim Willoughby. Roper, the 6-foot-5 senior, had seven blocks to complete her record-setting career with 303 but the 6-3 Kovesdy kept attacking to put up 17 points and eight boards.

"Most teams will attack me and try to get me in foul trouble just to get me out of the game so they're more evenly matched height-wise," said Roper, who had just three fouls and played 32 minutes. "I don't think it took a whole half (to adjust to ASU's defense). It took the first four or five possessions."

The Sun Devils had a 44-28 rebound advantage and forced Hawai'i into an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers.

"We showed good determination," ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "The second half we just kept our poise better and weren't letting silly things frustrate us. We'd get a shot blocked and get all bent out of shape (producing an Amy Denson technical foul in the first half). Obviously that's still our youth showing at times. In the second half we pretty much played unaffected, put out game face on and kept it on."

ASU did most everything well in the first half except shoot. After jumping out to a 9-2 lead, the Devils were just 5 of 23 from the field in the final 15:51. Yet they led 23-12 on the boards and committed just five first-half turnovers.

Kovesdy had 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting in the first half but her teammates were 5 of 27.

Hawai'i shot .368 (7 of 19) in the first half compared to ASU's .250 but could not capitalize due to the board disparity and 10 turnovers. The second-half shooting was reversed — 48 percent for ASU and 28.1 for the Rainbow Wahine.

In addition to Roper, starters Michelle Gabriel and Natasja Allen also completed their UH careers.