In a women's basketball slugfest, Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson and Kjersten Bakke provided a late 1-2 punch against host Hawai'i yesterday.

Anderson hit a key jump shot and Bakke got a critical putback in the final two minutes in a 77-67 Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic semifinal victory over the Rainbow Wahine.

"They put the ball in the hoop at the end," Hawai'i tri-captain Amy Sanders said of Wisconsin. "They deserved to win this game."

A crowd of 651 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Wisconsin (4-0) and Hawai'i (2-2) trade bumps and baskets in a rugged game that had 43 total fouls, and three players fouling out.

"It was a hard-fought game," Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla said. "If you like basketball, it was a great game to come and watch. People were playing hard, people were getting fouled, people were making great shots, and people were rebounding the ball."

Hawai'i will play Texas A&M for third place today at 3:20 p.m. Wisconsin will play No. 17 DePaul for the championship at 5:30.

The Rainbow Wahine closed to 69-67 on a pair of free throws by Sanders with 2:04 remaining, but couldn't pull ahead against the Badgers because of Anderson and Bakke.

Anderson hit her 15-foot jump shot from the left wing, and after Hawai'i's Brittany Grice was called for an offensive foul, Bakke rebounded Anderson's miss and scored for a 73-67 Wisconsin lead with 1:12 left.

"Jolene Anderson is the reigning Big 10 Freshman of the Year," Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said. "We ran a play, got her free, and she knocked an open shot down.

"Bakke is just a workhorse inside," Stone continued. "It was great position, and a power-play putback."

Hawai'i missed all three shot attempts in the final minute, and Wisconsin sealed the game making 4 of 6 free throws.

For the game, Wisconsin outrebounded Hawai'i, 42-33, including 23-15 in the second half

"Rebounding hurt us again," Bolla said. "In the last two minutes of the game, they just killed us on the glass. But we'll get better."

Hawai'i's Sanders finished with a game-high 19 points and Pam Tambini added 16. Wisconsin's Janese Banks scored 18, Anderson 16 and Bakke 10.

"At the end of the game, it comes down to execution and taking smart shots," Tambini said. "We beat ourselves."

In the second half, with the score tied at 50, Wisconsin engineered a 5-0 run on Danielle Ward's layup and Anderson's 3-pointer.

The Badgers increased the lead to 62-57 before Hawai'i scored four in a row on baskets by Alofa Toiaivao and Amy Kotani to cut the deficit to 62-61 with 5:25 left.

Kotani, a 5-foot-2 walk-on from Moanalua High School, played in her first game as a reserve point guard. She scored two points in nine minutes.

"I thought she went in and did a good job for us," Bolla said. "She got us calmed down."

Both teams held brief four-point leads in an exciting first half that featured eight ties and three lead changes.

Sanders scored 13 first-half points and Tanya Smith eight as Hawai'i took a 39-38 lead at intermission. Hawai'i hit 12 of 17 free throws in the first half, while Wisconsin was 2 of 5.

OTHER GAMES

Washington State 74, Idaho State 51: Charmaine Jones scored 13 points to lead five Washington State players in double figures, and Kate Benz pulled down 21 rebounds to lead the Cougars (3-1) past the Bengals (0-3). Benz, Keisha Moore and Dani Montgomery each had 12 points and Katie Appleton 11 for Washington State.

Cal State Northridge 69, Eastern Michigan 59: Katie Holloway scored 16 points, Jazelle Burries 14 and LaJoyce King 10 as the Matadors (1-3) defeated the Eagles (2-2). Sarah Vanmetre scored 15 for Eastern Michigan.

No. 17 DePaul 84, Texas A&M 71: Jenna Rubino scored 18 points, and Khara Smith had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Blue Demons (4-0) over the Aggies (2-1). Allie Quigley had 15 points and Jarietta Benton 11 for DePaul.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.