Rainbow Wahine hand Wake Forest first loss
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Sparked by key effort plays down the stretch, Hawai'i stunned previously undefeated Wake Forest in the final game of the Ala Moana Hotel Paradise Classic yesterday.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Janevia Taylor had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Amy Sanders hit the go-ahead putback in overtime in the Rainbow Wahine's 68-64 upset of the Demon Deacons.
Hawai'i's Alofa Toiaivao shoots over Wake Forest's Jennifer Johnson. Toiaivao had 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
A crowd of 371 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Hawai'i (4-3) rally past Wake Forest (8-1), which had upset No. 19 Houston, 65-57, on Friday.
"We just wanted to come out on fire," said Taylor, the tournament MVP. "We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity, and just bring all our heart to the game."
Alofa Toiaivao added 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks; Jade Abele had 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists; and Milia Macfarlane added 10 points for the 'Bows.
"It was all effort," UH coach Jim Bolla said of his team's 43-34 rebounding advantage. "We're getting better."
Sanders' putback gave UH a 66-64 lead with 55 seconds remaining in overtime.
"I didn't think it was a big deal, until now," Sanders said of the putback. "This gives us a lot more confidence."
Wake Forest had a chance to tie the game with five seconds remaining, but Erin Ferrell missed a pair of free throws.
Ferrell missed the first free throw so Wake Forest coach Mike Petersen instructed her to intentionally miss the second, but the Demon Deacons did not come up with the ball.
Toiaivao sealed the game with two free throws.
"To go into overtime with a great team like this says something," Macfarlane said. "Our entire bench was in the game."
Taylor sent the game into overtime tied at 59 when she rebounded Toiaivao's miss and sank a short fadeaway jumper with nine seconds remaining in regulation.
On the ensuing possession, Toiaivao blocked Ferrell's shot near the top of the key.
Hawai'i led by as many as seven in the second half, and held a late 56-51 lead before Wake Forest went on a 6-0 run to take a 57-56 lead with 1:51 left.
Following a free throw by Abele, Wake Forest went ahead 59-57 on a basket by Cotelia Bond-Young with 26 seconds left, and Taylor answered with her key bucket.
Bond-Young finished with 22 points, Liz Strunk 14 and Keila Evans 11 for Wake Forest.
"I thought both teams really played hard," Petersen said. "The biggest thing was we didn't rebound the ball well enough."
Notes
Houston won the tournament on a "least points allowed" tiebreaker, followed by Wake Forest and Hawai'i.
Hawai'i's Alofa Toiaivao and Janevia Taylor were named to the all-tournament team along with Houston's Daphne Andre and Sancho Lyttle, and Wake Forest's Porsche Jones and Cotelia Bond-Young.
Hawai'i played without guard Trisha Nishimoto, who suffered a concussion Thursday night when she fell and hit her forehead on a table.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
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