Rainbow Wahine blow big lead, lose to Hartford in OT
By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team appeared on its way to its first victory of the season, but Hartford changed its defense in the second half and rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Rainbow Wahine, 79-76, in overtime last night.
The Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic game was witnessed by 893 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
After falling behind 34-22 at halftime, Hartford coach Jennifer Rizzotti changed the Hawks' defense, switching from man-to-man to a 3-2 zone.
"We challenged them to try to beat us from the outside, instead of allowing them to get in on penetration," Rizzotti said. "I thought that changed the momentum of the game.
"Also, we knocked down a couple of shots and that really gave us some confidence, and sometimes that is all you need to go on a run."
The Rainbow Wahine are 0-3 for the first time since the 1981-82 season under then-coach Milo Griffin, whose team finished 8-18.
Hawai'i plays Syracuse today at 11 a.m. in the consolation bracket. Hartford (3-0) will play Montana at 3:20 p.m.
Playing against the zone changed Hawai'i's aggressiveness, Hawai'i coach Vince Goo said.
"We weren't looking to be scorers, we were looking just to pass, and when they decide that they are just going to pass instead of score, we are going to get into trouble.
"We became less aggressive and that isn't what we want to do. It was working for us in the first half and we should have stayed with it; we were asking for it, but we didn't have enough people who wanted to step in and be the aggressor."
Hawai'i had a chance to win in regulation, when senior wing April Atuaia drew a charge from Hartford sophomore guard Erika Messam near the Hartford bench with 12.4 seconds remaining at 65-all, giving Hawai'i a chance for the last shot.
But Hawai'i junior point guard Milia Macfarlane's shot bounced off the rim as time expired.
"I was kind of trying to draw a foul, but I think I faded a little bit," Macfarlane said.
Hawai'i had a chance to send the game into a second overtime after a free throw by Hartford's Jessica Clark made it 79-76 with 5.7 seconds left. But pressure by the Hawks denied the Rainbows a final shot.
Hawai'i's Jade Abele finished with a game-high 21 points. Atuaia added 16, after scoring two in the first half, and Macfarlane and Trisha Nishimoto added 12 apiece.
"I thought we did a really good job offensively," Abele said. "We had some good looks and were really attacking the basket. We had a lot of people scoring today, instead of relying on one or two people to step it up."
Hawai'i outrebounded Hartford 40-36, and its 42.6 shooting percentage (26 of 61) was its highest this season. The Rainbow Wahine's largest lead was 46-32 early in the second half.
No. 2 TEXAS 97, NAVY 46: Nina Norman scored 18 points to lead five Longhorns in double figures in a rout of the Mids. Heather Schreiber added 14, Tiffany Jackson 13, and Kalee Carey and Mercedes Williams had 11 points apiece.
Navy (2-2) kept it close early in the game, at 14-13, with 13:19 remaining. However, Texas (4-0), which shot 50.6 percent from the field, opened up a 42-19 lead with 1:52 remaining in the first half.
Navy's Courtney Davidson scored a team-high 15 points.
Texas plays Virginia at 5:30 p.m. today in the winners' bracket. Navy plays No. 21 Arizona at 1:10 p.m. in the losers' bracket.
VIRGINIA 70, NO. 21 ARIZONA 65: LaTonya Blue scored a game-high 16 points, and Anna Prillaman added 14, Brandi Teamer 13, and Kate Kreager 10 for Virginia (1-1).
Arizona (1-1) was led by Shawntinice Polk, who scored 14 points, and Dee-Dee Wheeler, who scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
MONTANA 65, SYRACUSE 55: Hollie Tyler scored a game-high 16 points, Julie Deming added 14, and Brooklynn Lorenzen and Jody McCleod had 10 apiece as Montana (2-0) beat Syracuse (2-1).
Syracuse shot 33.3 percent from the field. Sarah Wegrzynowicz scored a team-high nine points.
Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.
