UH women capture first win of season
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Boosted by clutch shotmaking and a career performance by its backup center, the Rainbow Wahine basketball team earned its first victory under head coach Jim Bolla yesterday.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Jade Abele sank a go-ahead 3-pointer and reserve Alofa Toiaivao had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks as Hawai'i fended off California, 70-68, for seventh place in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Hawai'i center Alofa Toiaivao scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against California.
"I'm real proud of them," said Bolla, a former Nevada-Las Vegas coach who took over the program from longtime coach Vince Goo, who retired after last season. "I'm happy at the end of the game, they sucked it up and battled. Cal's a good team. It's a good win for us."
Texas Christian beat No. 13 Michigan State, 80-75, for the tournament title.
A crowd of about 200 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Abele drain the go-ahead 3-pointer off a pass from Janevia Taylor to put the Rainbow Wahine up for good, 65-62, with 3:05 remaining.
Abele led Hawai'i (1-2) with 21 points, Amy Sanders added 12 and Milia Macfarlane 11. Leigh Gregory scored a game-high 23 points, Jessica Lawson 18 and Kristin Iwanaga 12 for California (1-3).
Prior to Abele's basket, California had rallied from a 41-31 second-half deficit to tie the game at 62. Abele credited Taylor for drawing several defenders on a drive to the middle of the key, and then making a great pass.
"How she got that ball out to me in the perfect shooting position, I'll never know, but she did it," Abele said. "I had all the time in the world to shoot it. I'm happy it went in."
However, California would not go quietly. A basket by Gregory pulled the Golden Bears to 65-64, but Hawai'i followed with baskets by Taylor and Abele for a 69-64 lead with 36 seconds remaining.
After a basket by California's Kiki Williams, Taylor sank one of two free throws for a 70-66 Hawai'i lead with 11 seconds left. Gregory scored California's final basket with 2 seconds remaining, and Hawai'i inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.
"To Hawai'i's credit, they did a great job of being confident of shooting the ball and making some shots," said California coach Caren Horstmeyer, the Pac-10 Coach of the Year last season. "That little No. 4 (Taylor), and that kid from Australia (Abele) who's just a gamer — you know she's going to be their go-to player."
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Toiaivao, who sat out last season to fulfill eligibility requirements, turned in her best performance as a Rainbow Wahine, scoring 11 of her 17 points in the second half. The 6-foot-4 sophomore also provided solid defense with three steals, and recorded four blocks in the final 20 minutes.
California's Jessica Lawson, left, and Hawai'i's Callie Spooner fight for possession of the ball in the seventh-place game of the Rainbow Wahine Classic. Hawai'i fended off visiting California to win, 70-68.
"It just feels good to play," said Toiaivao, who is from Sandy, Utah. "We just played harder today. We played more like a team today."
The Rainbow Wahine, who made 26 of 53 shots, recycled 19 California turnovers into 19 points.
In the first half, Hawai'i engineered an 18-3 run to take its largest lead of the game at 29-14. Hawai'i led 37-26 at halftime.
"Our intensity really picked up today," Sanders said. "I thought for the most part we took smart choices in our shot selection. We had a nice, balanced attack."
Notes: Texas Christian's Sandora Irvin earned tournament MVP honors.
The all-tournament team was Leilani Mitchell (Idaho), Quinn Thomas (Santa Clara), Kim Smith (Utah), Tasha Humphrey (Georgia), Kelli Roehrig (Michigan State), Ashley Davis (Texas Christian) and Lindsay Bowen (Michigan State).
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
• • •
Texas Christian 80, No. 13 Michigan St. 75
Sandora Irvin had 23 points and 17 rebounds and Texas Christian (5-1) upset a ranked team for the second night in a row, beating No. 13 Michigan State in the championship game. Michigan State's Rene Haynes had a chance to tie it with less than 3 seconds left, but she missed a 3-pointer from the right wing. TCU's Ashley Davis followed with two free throws to seal the victory for the Lady Frogs. Lindsay Bowen led Michigan State (4-1) with 33 points, including six 3-pointers.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN (5-1)
Baker 3-11 2-2 8, Knight 1-2 1-1 3, Lacy 4-9 1-4 10, Holmes 1-1 1-1 3, Clementino 2-7 2-2 6, Newton 5-11 2-2 12, Davis 4-10 5-7 15, Irvin 8-18 7-8 23. Totals 28-69 21-27 80.
MICHIGAN STATE (4-1)
Haynie 3-8 1-2 7, Davidson 0-1 0-0 0, Bowen 10-17 7-8 33, Haynes 3-10 2-2 9, Dwyer 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas-Perry 0-4 0-1 0, Roehrig 10-14 2-4 22, Grantham 0-0 0-0 0, Bannister 0-2 0-0 0, Shimek 1-9 2-4 4. Totals 27-65 14-21 75.
Halftime—Michigan State 40-36. 3-Point goals—Texas Christian 3-16 (Davis 2-6, Lacy 1-4, Knight 0-1, Newton 0-1, Irvin 0-1, Baker 0-3), Michigan State 7-24 (Bowen 6-11, Haynes 1-5, Davidson 0-1, Shimek 0-1, Haynie 0-3, Lucas-Perry 0-3). Fouled out—Shimek. Rebounds—Texas Christian 47 (Irvin 17), Michigan State 36 (Roehrig 12). Assists—Texas Christian 19 (Irvin 6), Michigan State 18 (Haynie 7). Total fouls—Texas Christian 19, Michigan State 20. Technical—Texas Christian team.
No. 3 Georgia 87, Santa Clara 68
Cori Chambers and Tasha Humphrey had 18 points apiece to lead the No. 3 Lady Bulldogs (4-1) over the Broncos (1-3) in the third-place game.
SANTA CLARA (1-3)
Cronk 0-0 0-0 0, Cozad 4-9 4-6 13, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Michalski 0-0 0-0 0, Gonnerman 3-6 2-4 8, Graham 7-12 0-0 18, Markey 5-9 0-0 10, Monteith 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 5-14 0-0 12, Kimyacioglu 0-1 2-2 2, Huss 2-7 0-0 5, Majors 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 8-12 68.
GEORGIA (4-1)
Baker 8-16 0-0 17, Greene 0-0 2-2 2, Pierce 2-5 0-0 4, Hardrick 3-5 8-10 15, Bostice 0-1 0-0 0, Chambers 7-12 0-2 18, Darrah 1-6 0-1 2, Kendrick 1-3 4-4 7, Frye 0-2 0-0 0, Humphrey 5-12 7-8 18, Rowsey 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 29-68 21-27 87.
Halftime—Georgia 40, Santa Clara 35. 3-Point goals—Santa Clara 8-23 (Graham 4-7, Thomas 2-8, Cozad 1-2, Huss 1-4, Walker 0-1, Kimyacioglu 0-1), Georgia 8-16 (Chambers 4-6, Baker 1-1, Hardrick 1-2, Kendrick 1-2, Humphrey 1-2, Darrah 0-3). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Santa Clara 30 (Markey 9), Georgia 45 (Humphrey 11). Assists—Santa Clara 13 (Thomas, Huss 3), Georgia 19 (Baker, Kendrick 4). Total fouls—Santa Clara 20, Georgia 16.
Utah 57, Idaho 50
Shona Thorburn scored a team-high 14 points, and Kim Smith and Shauna Brouillard had 11 each as the Utes (3-2) defeated the Vandals (3-2) for fifth place.
IDAHO (3-2)
Mitchell 6-12 3-4 19, Faurholt 6-15 3-4 16, Frazee 1-3 0-0 3, Felton 0-3 0-2 0, Westbrooks 1-2 0-0 2, Thoelke 4-13 0-0 8, Summers 1-6 0-2 2. Totals 19-54 6-10 50.
UTAH (3-2)
Smith 5-14 1-2 11, Thorburn 6-13 0-0 14, Brouillard 1-3 0-0 3, Wood 3-8 3-4 11, Hanchett 2-7 4-4 8, Allen 1-4 0-0 2, Sitterud 2-6 2-3 7, Warner 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-57 10-13 57.
Halftime—Utah 28, Idaho 24. 3-Point goals— Idaho 6-24 (Mitchell 4-9, Frazee 1-3, Faurholt 1-5, Felton 0-2, Thoelke 0-5), Utah 5-19 (Thorburn 2-5, Wood 2-6, Sitterud 1-3, Warner 0-1, Allen 0-1, Smith 0-3). Fouled out— none. Rebounds— Idaho 31 (Thoelke 7, Summers 7), Utah 42 (Smith 16). Assists— Idaho 10 (Faurholt 5), Utah 16 (Thorburn 6, Sitterud 6). Total fouls— Idaho 14, Utah 14.
