A crowd of 552 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Bulldogs (9-1) win their third consecutive game and fifth straight road game this season.

The Rainbow Wahine (4-4) looked nothing like the poised and playmaking team that upset previously undefeated Wake Forest, 68-64, on Dec. 18. Last night, Hawai'i was manhandled by Fresno State on offense and defense.

"This kind of humbled us a little bit," said Hawai'i center Brittany Grice, who finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks. "I think this was a wake up call for all of us."

Fresno State finished with a 47-32 rebounding advantage and a 34-24 scoring edge inside the paint against a passive Hawai'i team.

"We need to get tougher physically and mentally," Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla said. "I'm telling you right now, every team is going to try to get real physical with us because we're soft. We've got players who aren't soft players, but we get into this mode where we're shooting jumpers and not powering the ball up."

Last night, Hawai'i surrendered easy baskets in the key and failed to show any offensive courage inside against Fresno State.

Hawai'i did not shoot any free throws in the second half, and shot just 31 percent from the field (12 of 39) after intermission.

"We just had complete breakdowns on offense," Bolla said. "When we did get chances to score inside we missed layups. They had us so intimated inside, we'd shoot a layup, and we'd shoot it over the top of the rim."

Hawai'i's Alofa Toiaivao puts up a shot over a packed Fresno State defense during last night's WAC season opener for both teams.

"It's always good to come back home," Lane said. "But tonight was primarily to get the job done and to win."

Led by its physical defense that would bump Hawai'i players on nearly every cut to the basket, Fresno State increased its seven-point halftime lead to as much as 22 in the second half. The Bulldogs never let the lead dip below nine points in the final 20 minutes.

"I live by defense and rebounding," Fresno State coach Stacy Johnson-Klein said. "We work on that everyday. I always just tell them if you outrebound a team by 10, you're going to win by 10 points."

Added Grice: "I don't think we did a great job boxing out (on rebounds). I could have done a better job rebounding. We need to be more aggressive and want to get the ball off the glass. I think that's our big hurdle right now."

Hawai'i — which led by as many as six points midway in the first half — held an 18-15 lead with six minutes remaining before Fresno State rallied with a 14-4 run to take a 29-22 halftime lead.

Hawai'i committed 10 turnovers in the first half and Fresno State recycled those miscues into 12 points.

Hawai'i first-team All-WAC honoree Jade Abele and teammate Alofa Toiaivao played just nine and 11 minutes in the first half, respectively, because of foul trouble. Abele finished with seven points in 25 minutes. Toiaivao had five points, three rebounds and two blocks.

Hawai'i was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team WAC this season by league coaches. Fresno State was picked sixth, while Louisiana Tech was picked to finish first.

Notes: Jayson Goo will be the head trainer for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team after Daniel Mar Chong recently accepted a trainer's job at Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. ... Injured Hawai'i swing player Pam Tambini, who is recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, practiced this week for the first time this season.