The Hawaii women’s basketball team found relief on Thursday, snapping a four-game losing streak with a much-needed 58-51 Western Athletic Conference win at New Mexico State.
Senior forward Breanna Arbuckle scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half, sophomore wing Vicky Tagalicod added 13 points and nine rebounds and second-year forward Kamilah Jackson notched 10 points and 10 boards in her first appearance off the bench this season.
UH (9-15, 4-5 WAC) moved into a tie for fourth place with San Jose State with five league games remaining. The Rainbow Wahine won at the Pan-American Center in back-to-back years and earned the first home-and-home sweep of a WAC opponent in Dana Takahara-Dias’ three years as head coach.
“I think on many fronts it’s huge … none bigger than snapping a four-game losing streak,” Takahara-Dias said in a postgame phone interview. “We were excited, ecstatic about this win.”
UH nailed seven of its first 12 3-point attempts and finished at 46.7 percent from long range, a season high. In contrast, NMSU hit only four of 22 3-pointers (18.2 percent).
The Wahine came into the game shooting 26.8 percent from deep. Jackson hit two top-arc 3s as part of her 13th double-double of the season.
“Hitting seven 3s was a godsend for us to open up our inside game,” Takahara-Dias said.
After NMSU (5-20, 2-8) erased an 11-point first-half deficit, freshman point guard Alissa Campanero got a deep 3 to bounce in with under 11 minutes left for a 43-39 Wahine advantage.
The Aggies’ Tabytha Wampler tied it up at 45 on an elbow jumper with 7 minutes left, but Arbuckle, playing before her family, responded with the next two baskets for a four-point lead.
NMSU got back within one, but Arbuckle hit a straightaway 15-footer for a 51-48 lead, then assisted on a Tagalicod basket inside to go up five with under 2 minutes left. UH hit free throws to ice it.
“It was great. My mom hardly ever watches me live, so that was the best part,” said Arbuckle, an Arizona native.
UH will go for another season sweep at third-place Louisiana Tech (14-11, 7-3) on Saturday.
“We’re going to ride this game right now, off to LaTech and see what we can do out there,” Arbuckle said.
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WAC STANDINGS
| |
Conference |
|
|
|
Overall |
| |
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L |
| Fresno State |
9 |
0 |
1.000 |
— |
21 |
4 |
| Utah State |
8 |
2 |
.800 |
1 1⁄2 |
17 |
7 |
| Louisiana Tech |
7 |
3 |
.700 |
2 1⁄2 |
14 |
11 |
| San Jose State |
4 |
5 |
.444 |
5 |
9 |
15 |
| Hawaii |
4 |
5 |
.444 |
5 |
9 |
15 |
| Idaho |
3 |
7 |
.300 |
6 1⁄2 |
8 |
18 |
| New Mexico State |
2 |
8 |
.200 |
71⁄2 |
5 |
20 |
| Nevada |
1 |
8 |
.111 |
8 |
5 |
19 |
Thursday
Hawaii 58, New Mexico State 51
Louisiana Tech 73, San Jose State 68
Utah State 84, Nevada 72
Fresno State 76, Idaho 68
Saturday
Hawaii at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m.
San Jose State at New Mexico State
Idaho at Nevada
Utah State at Fresno State
HAWAII 58, NEW MEXICO STATE 51
RAINBOW WAHINE (9-15, 4-5 WAC)
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Tagalicod |
5-8 |
2-2 |
9 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
3 |
29 |
| Adolpho |
0-2 |
0-0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
18 |
| Haydel |
1-7 |
0-0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
28 |
| Arbuckle |
6-9 |
5-10 |
6 |
2 |
17 |
2 |
2 |
34 |
| Campanero |
3-7 |
0-0 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
36 |
| Jackson |
3-9 |
2-2 |
10 |
1 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
28 |
| Bello |
2-9 |
0-0 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
15 |
| Dew |
0-1 |
0-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
| Gaddis |
1-1 |
0-0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| TEAM |
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
21-53 |
9-14 |
41 |
11 |
58 |
12 |
15 |
200 |
AGGIES (5-20, 2-8 WAC)
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Rozendaal |
1-2 |
2-3 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
16 |
| Wampler |
5-13 |
1-1 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
1 |
5 |
27 |
| Sanchez |
5-13 |
0-0 |
6 |
2 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
| Ruedin |
1-5 |
0-0 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
40 |
| Rosen |
2-6 |
1-2 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
| Melville |
1-7 |
0-0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
16 |
| Chenier |
2-5 |
2-2 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
| Rutledge |
3-11 |
1-2 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
30 |
| Fletcher |
0-2 |
0-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
| TEAM |
|
|
0 |
| Totals |
20-64 |
7-10 |
39 |
16 |
51 |
9 |
12 |
200 |
Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — Hawaii 28, New Mexico State 27
3-points goals — Hawaii 7-15 (Jackson 2-3, Campanero 2-4, Tagalicod 1-1, Gaddis 1-1, Bello 1-5, Haydel 0-1). New Mexico State 4-22 (Sanchez 3-10, Chenier 1-3, Rosen 0-1, Wampler 0-4, Melville 0-4). Steals — Hawaii 5 (Tagalicod, Haydel, Arbuckle, Campanero, Gaddis). New Mexico State 6 (Chenier 2, Rutledge 2, Sanchez, Fletcher). Blocked shots — Hawaii 4 (Arbuckle 3, Jackson). New Mexico State 3 (Sanchez, Melville, Rutledge). Officials — Lisa Jones, Kent Johnson, Charles Carroll. A — 1,177.
