There would be no coming back from this one.
Hawaii, which used a 19-2 closing run to rally past Arizona on Sunday, had no such magic on Wednesday when going up against No. 19 Texas A&M. The Rainbow Wahine had no answer in the paint, particularly when it was Aggies’ 6-foot-5 senior center Khaalia Hillsman getting the ball, and it did not paint a pretty picture.
Hillsman was 12-for-12 from the floor en route to 25 points when playing just half the game and Texas A&M overwhelmed Hawaii 103-59 in the Duel in the Desert women’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas. Junior guard Danni Williams added 23 points with five 3-pointers for the Aggies (10-2) at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
“We knew going in that we didn’t have a match-up for her,” Wahine coach Laura Beeman said in a telephone call. “The bigger issue was that we allowed wide-open shots.
“I have a lot of faith in this team but when we make mistakes that we should not be making, there’s surprise and frustration. Maybe we weren’t going to win this game but I want us to execute our game plan.”
Hawaii (6-5) has today to work on that before taking on No. 10 Oregon (9-2) on Friday (10 a.m. HST) to conclude its three-game road trip. Beeman said the Ducks will be a different style of team than the Aggies, one featuring sophomore guard Sabrina Ionescu, who was named freshman of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, ESPNW and the Pac-12. Ionescu leads Oregon in scoring (17.3 ppg), 3-pointers (30), assists (94) and is second in rebounding (7.1 rpg).
“She is their leader and does a marvelous job orchestrating their offense,” Beeman said. “Oregon will be a equally balanced (as Texas A&M) but with more depth.
“One of the things we talked about (after Sunday’s game with Arizona) was being more aggressive. Again we weren’t getting to the free-throw line and that’s because we weren’t being aggressive when trying to score.”
Leading the Wahine in scoring were senior guard Sarah Toeaina and sophomore forward Makenna Woodfolk, both of whom had 10 points. Sophomore guard Julissa Tago was limited to one 3-pointer, something Beeman hopes will change on Friday.
“She needs to step it up,” Beeman said. “She can be a dynamic scorer and, when she’s not, it affects our team. She can’t disappear.”
Tago scored a combined 53 points in the first three games, including 28 in the season opener. She has scored 66 in the past eight games combined.
The 44-point margin is the 10th-worst at any site in program history, the sixth-worst at a neutral/road site. Texas A&M also defeated Hawaii by 41 points two Decembers ago (82-41) at a tournament hosted by Brigham Young-Hawaii.
NOTE: The last time a UH opposing player shot 100 percent from the floor was San Jose State’s Myzhanique Ladd, who was 5-for-5 in a 76-73 loss on Dec. 22, 2015, in San Jose, Calif.