Rainbow Wahine fall in OT
Advertiser Staff
Amber Jackson scored five of her game-high 23 points in overtime and San Jose State fended off Hawai'i, 54-49, in a Western Athletic Conference game yesterday in San Jose, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine, who trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, erased a 43-36 deficit with 3:50 remaining in regulation by outscoring the Spartans 7-0 at the Events Center.
Taylor
With the scored tied at 43, Hawai'i had two opportunities to score the go-ahead points in regulation, but Jade Abele missed a free throw with 55.8 seconds remaining and Janevia Taylor missed a 19-foot jumper with about five seconds left.
"We had chances to win the game, we just didn't shoot the ball well," said UH coach Jim Bolla, whose team is on its first road trip of the season. "It was a winnable game. We shot 29 percent for the game (23 of 62). You're not going to beat teams shooting 29 percent and having 21 turnovers."
Hawai'i dropped to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the WAC. San Jose State is 9-4 and 2-1.
In overtime, Hawai'i took three leads, including its last advantage at 49-48 on a basket by Alofa Toiaivao. Toiaivao was fouled on the play but missed the ensuing free throw with 2:30 remaining.
The Spartans went ahead for good, 50-49, on Lindsay Harris' basket, and Hawai'i went scoreless on its final five possessions.
"We got the ball into scoring opportunities and we just missed them," Bolla said. "I don't know if we were tired, or if it was lack of focus, or a culmination of a bunch of things, but it's something we need to change. We'll work on it."
Lamisha Augustine's basket increased San Jose State's lead to 52-49 with 24 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Hawai'i committed a turnover and fouled Augustine. She sank two free throws to seal the game. San Jose State outscored Hawai'i 11-6 in overtime.
Hawai'i shot 50 percent (6 of 12) from the free-throw line after entering the game shooting 66 percent.
"This is not the first time we've missed crucial free throws," Bolla said. "Free throws are the easiest shots in the game. There's no pressure on you. We're just going to have to get better."
Abele and Toiaivao each scored 12 points. Taylor added 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Augustine had 16 points and seven rebounds. Jackson added 12 rebounds.
Bolla played seven players yesterday and three — Taylor, Amy Sanders and Milia Macfarlane — played the entire 45 minutes.
In the second half, San Jose State engineered a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 41-32. Augustine scored six points during the surge.
In the first half, Brittany Grice's basket gave Hawai'i its biggest lead at 16-8, but San Jose State responded with a 12-2 run — highlighted by Jessica Kellog's go-ahead layup with eight seconds remaining — to end the half with a 20-18 lead.
Hawai'i scored just one basket — by Sanders — in the final 6:30 of the first half.
"If we can execute a little better, we could have won the game in regulation," Bolla said. "We just didn't. We shot the ball really well at practice today, so I don't know what it was."
Hawai'i' will travel to Dallas to play Southern Methodist on Thursday. The Rainbow Wahine will conclude their road trip against Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Ruston, La.
