LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The Fresno State women's basketball team liked Hawai'i's game plan so much the Bulldogs apparently turned around and used it to end the Rainbow Wahine's season yesterday.

Three weeks after the Rainbow Wahine beat them at the Stan Sheriff Center, the Bulldogs paid UH back with interest in a 72-47 first-round blowout in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

"It is pretty much what we did to them at our place," acting head coach Pat Charity said. "We sagged on them (on defense) and they couldn't hit that outside shot and when they came in they ran into our bigs — and today we ran into theirs."

So, for the fourth consecutive year the Rainbow Wahine were bounced in the first tournament appearance. This time finishing 15-14 with their most lopsided loss of the year on their worst shooting game (26.5 percent) of the season.

"The last three years we struggled with the first game (of the tournament) and I was hoping — we were hoping — we could turn the corner on it and it didn't happen," Charity said. "All of us have tears in our eyes because we know that we can play better than we did."

The opening minutes pretty much told the tale of this one. UH scored the first basket on Janevia Taylor's jumper and then were outscored 11-0 over the next five minutes and Fresno dictated the pace thereafter.

"If we'd hit a jump shot they'd have to come out and play us," Charity said. "But as long as we were not hitting, I wouldn't have come out and played us either. It seemed like everything we threw at them they threw right back at us."

FSU coach Adrian Wiggins said the Bulldogs' 79-65 loss in Honolulu was "probably a down" point for his team this season. "We think — and we thought — we were a pretty good defensive team. We prided ourselves on that." So, he said he challenged his players to show it.

Taylor led UH with 12 points, but shot 5-for-24. Amy Kotani had 11.

When steady Tanya Smith, who had six points on 2-of-9 shooting, missed a short, trademark fadeaway jump shot down the stretch, Charity said, "that told us right there where we were. I mean, she always makes that and our whole staff looked at each other and said that's the kind of game it is today."

Unfortunately, it was also their last game of the season.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.