Women's Hoops Pulls Away from Louisiana Tech, 61-49, @LaTech

[BigWave96744]

Women's Hoops Pulls Away from Louisiana Tech, 61-49
2/18/2012 7:16:00 PM

RUSTON, La.—The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team (10-15, 5-5 WAC) pulled away from Louisiana Tech (14-12, 7-4 WAC), 61-49 on Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center. The win evened UH's conference record at 5-5 and it marked the first time the 'Bows have ever swept the Lady Techsters since Louisiana Tech joined the WAC in the 2001-02 season.

Four Rainbow Wahine scored in double figures, led by Kamilah Jackson's 19 points. Jackson was just one rebound shy of another double-double. She was 7-of-13 from the floor and was one of three UH players to sink clutch free throws down the stretch. Jackson went 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Breanna Arbuckle recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Arbuckle had a solid game across the board for Hawai`i with four assists, a block and a steal while playing 33 minutes.

Vicky Tagalicod and Alissa Campanero were the other two players to score in double digits. Tagalicod scored 11 points with two 3-pointers, six rebounds, and two key free throws. Campanero had 10 points—including four crucial free-throws with less than a minute to go in the game. She also dished out a career-high seven assists and tied her career-best with three steals in 38 minutes of action.

The 'Bows started the game jumping out to a 5-2 lead before Louisiana Tech got their game in gear and went on an 11-0 run to go up 13-5. La Tech built as big a lead as nine points, 21-12 with 7:24 to go in the first half. But the 'Bows chipped away, going on an 11-1 run of their own on two layups by Jackson, a 3-pointer by Campanero, and a jump shot by Kanisha Bello. Two free throws by Cmpanero gave UH a 23-22 lead with 3:50 left in the half. Louisiana Tech then stopped the bleeding, sinking two jump shots of their own to see-saw ahead by three points. Kalei Adolpho then drained one free throw with 1:09 left to cut their deficit to just two points to end the half.

Hawai`i came out of halftime and Tagalicod drained a 3-point shot right out of the gate to give UH a one point lead. The score was tied twice more and Louisiana Tech took a one-point lead at the 16:53 mark, but after that UH took control of the game. After the first media time out, Jackson's layup with 14:22 gave Hawai`i a lead that they would end up not relinquishing. But after UH posted an 11 point lead at the 10:50 mark, the Lady Techsters mounted a come-back rally, going on an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to just two points, 46-44. Keep in mind, on Thursday night, Louisiana Tech had successfully come back from being 13 points down with less than 10 minutes left and came all the way back to defeat San Jose State, 73-68—and they were looking for the same result again on Saturday night. But the Rainbow Wahine hung tough, with Arbuckle stopping LaTech's run with a jumper to go up 48-44 with 5:56 remaining. UH would then start to pull away, ending the game on a 15-to-5 streak that was highlighted by five key defensive rebounds by the 'Bows and clutch free throws that sealed the win by Campanero, Tagalicod and Jackson.

Not only did the win mark the first time that UH defeated Louisiana Tech twice in one season, but it was just the second time the Hawai`i was able to win at the Thomas Assembly Center in which the Lady Techsters have the second-highest home win percentage (91.3%) in the country with 487 wins to just 46 losses since 1974. The only other time UH won in Ruston came on Feb. 10, 2007 when the 'Bows held off LaTech, 60-49. Ironically that year was also the last time the Rainbow Wahine won back-to-back games on a roadtrip—the same two opponents that UH defeated this year, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech. It also is the first time the the 'Bows have swept two WAC series in a season since 2007-08 (San Jose State and Idaho).

Hawai`i held Louisiana Tech to just 49 points tonight. La Tech has been held under 50 points just twice this season—both times were against UH. The 'Bows held the Lady Techsters 18.5 points below their season average of 67.5. The Rainbow Wahine won the battle on the glass 47-to-33 and points in the paint 24-to-16.

Louisiana Tech was led by Angie Felton who scored 11 points and Jasmine Bendolph who tallied 10 points.

Hawai`i now heads home for its last homestand of the season against Fresno State on Feb. 23 and Nevada on Feb. 25 both at 7:00 p.m. The Nevada game is Senior Night for four UH seniors—Breanna Arbuckle, Rebecca Dew, Carlotta Mingo, and Courtney Gaddis.

http://hawaiiathletics.com/news/2012/2/ ... 21855.aspx

[Ulchiro5ga]

It amazes me how the Wahine have had success on the road (2 for 2 on this trip). Hopefully they are peaking as they hit the home stretch. Maybe they can win some in Vegas?