LAS CRUCES, N.M.—The desert was perhaps the appropriate setting for a season-ending dry spell for the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team.

The Rainbow Wahine had one of their worst offensive showings in several years in a 55-40 loss to New Mexico State in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament last night at the Pan American Center.

Hawai'i shot a season-low 25.9 percent (14 of 54) from the field, including a dismal 17.2 percent (5 of 29) in the first half. The 40 points was also the lowest total since the 2003-04 season.

"I've had a lot of teams in 30 years I've been coaching, but to shoot 17 percent in the first half is a pretty unique situation," Hawai'i head coach Jim Bolla said. "And not a positive situation."

The 'Bows ended their season with a 12-18 record, including three losses to New Mexico State.

The host Aggies improved to 22-8, and advanced to tomorrow's semifinals.

It was the fifth consecutive year that the 'Bows lost their opening game in the WAC Tournament.

"I didn't get past the first round all four years," senior center Tanya Smith said. "Maybe next year they'll do it."

The worst part for Hawai'i was it finally seemed to solve its season-long turnover problem. The 'Bows, who were averaging 23.8 turnovers per game, committed a season-low 16 last night.

"We were getting the shots, they just weren't dropping for us," Bolla said.

Smith capped her stellar career at Hawai'i with her 20th double-double of the season — and 33rd in four seasons. She had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

But she went 4 of 12 from the field against a New Mexico State defense that collapsed three or four players on her every time she caught the ball in the low post.

"It was really tough in there," Smith said. "I couldn't even get the ball back out. I was just smothered."

Bolla said the quickness of the Aggies was the difference, as they were able to cover all of Hawai'i's passing angles.

"We wanted to get the ball in the post ... and get the ball back out," he said. "We just couldn't get the ball out. It was like a spider's web in there."

Smith was quick to note that the Aggies were called for 13 fouls to Hawai'i's 19.

"We weren't getting the calls we should have," she said. "It was frustrating."

Bolla was equally quick to say: "She said that, I didn't say that."

Despite its shooting woes, Hawai'i stayed fairly close to the Aggies for most of the game.

Even after opening the game by shooting 2 for 21 from the field, the 'Bows trailed just 9-6 after 10 minutes. At halftime, Hawai'i was 5 of 29 from the field, and trailed 23-14.

"We're still in this game at halftime," Bolla said. "We just could never get a run going, could never get a couple baskets in a row."

The 'Bows got as close as seven with 9:03 remaining, then the Aggies slowly pulled away.

New Mexico State shot just 34.5 percent from the field for the game, but kept Hawai'i at bay with rebounding and clutch shooting from freshman guard Madison Spence — the head coach's daughter.

"Ugly game," NMSU head coach Darin Spence said. "But to me, the uglier the better. Two good defensive teams battled it out ... I just think we had a few more breaks than they did and played in more spurts than they did."

The Aggies grabbed 52 rebounds to Hawai'i's 35. NMSU's starting frontline of 6-foot Sherell Neal (13 rebounds), 6-foot Anikia Jawara (12) and 6-2 Carla Denning (10) combined to out-rebound the 'Bows.

Spence led the Aggies with a career-high 20 points, including a 3-pointer that gave them an insurmountable 48-35 lead with 5:04 remaining.

"I credit our defense a lot," Darin Spence said. "Tonight we got back to what we call our identity, and that's being a sound defensive team."

It was the second time in four days that the Aggies beat Hawai'i. They rallied from a 19-point deficit to defeat the 'Bows, 59-58, in Honolulu on Saturday.

"Because we were down so much in Hawai'i and we did come back, we definitely felt like we could win this game," Neal said.

Tara Hittle added 11 points for Hawai'i, although she shot 3 of 11 from the field.

"Personally, I felt like I had so many layups, so many easy shots," she said. "Shoot it up there and it bounces around, and literally, none of them went it. That was super frustrating."

Despite the frustrating finish to the frustrating season, Bolla said he likes the prospects for next season.

He said freshmen Keisha Kanekoa and Leilani Galdones, and sophomore Megan Tinnin are part of "a core that's coming back."

"We made a lot of mistakes this year, I made a lot of mistakes this year," Bolla said. "Hopefully, you learn from them."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.