At no other time were the Jekyll-and-Hyde personalities of the Hawaii women’s basketball team on better display.
The Rainbow Wahine got blitzed in the first half by Fresno State, caught a second wind in their Stan Sheriff Center locker room, and emerged a different entity. That was enough to play the first-place Bulldogs evenly in the second half, but the Western Athletic Conference’s best team still departed with an 83-52 victory before a crowd of 517 on Thursday night.
Some Wahine pride, at least, was intact heading into Saturday’s senior night game against last-place Nevada (5-21, 1-10). UH has bounced back from bad losses throughout the up-and-down season, and will look to do so one more time.
UH (10-16, 5-6 WAC) trailed by 29 after scoring just 13 points in a putrid first half. Dana Takahara-Dias’ team got it down to 22 at the midpoint of the second period, but the 3-point popping, ball-hawking Bulldogs responded with two of their 14 treys to put down the uprising.
UH dropped into a fourth-place tie with San Jose State with three more games before the WAC tournament.
"Fresno is a great team. … Great teams will have an effect on you and make you do things you normally don’t do," Takahara-Dias said. "That’s a prime example in the first half, our inability to get any offense going. The double-teams came, they mixed it up on us, and we couldn’t get the shots we wanted."
The Bulldogs (23-4, 11-0) — who are receiving votes in the Top 25 poll — won their 12th straight game overall and 13th straight against UH, moving ahead in the overall series 26-25 after the last WAC regular-season meeting between the two. They did it largely by forcing 17 of UH’s 22 turnovers in the first half and scoring 26 points off those giveaways.
"I was really pleased with our energy on the road," FSU coach Adrian Wiggins said. "We were really worried about Hawaii’s rebounding and how physical they are … I thought in the second half they did a good job of handling the pressure."
Senior wing Breanna Arbuckle led UH with 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Kalei Adolpho added eight points and 12 rebounds as UH outrebounded FSU 42-36, one of a few positives.
Saturday’s game will be the last at home for Arbuckle and reserves Courtney Gaddis, Rebecca Dew and Carlotta Mingo. Gaddis and Mingo got loud cheers for scoring 12 combined points after halftime.
¯¯¯¯¯
FRESNO STATE 83, HAWAII 52
Bulldogs (23-4, 11-0 WAC)
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Fox |
1-1 |
0-0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Farley |
8-11 |
0-0 |
2 |
1 |
20 |
1 |
1 |
21 |
| Sheedy |
3-8 |
0-1 |
7 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
25 |
| Parrish |
1-7 |
2-4 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
19 |
| Goldberg |
0-1 |
0-0 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
| Furst |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| Draper |
1-2 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| Moore |
8-15 |
1-2 |
9 |
1 |
19 |
4 |
2 |
31 |
| Moult |
6-15 |
0-0 |
5 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
| Wilson |
2-6 |
0-0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
18 |
| Thompson |
2-3 |
2-2 |
5 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
4 |
33 |
| TEAM |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
32-69 |
5-9 |
36 |
16 |
83 |
19 |
8 |
200 |
RAINBOW WAHINE (10-16, 5-6 WAC)
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Haydel |
0-3 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
19 |
| Jackson |
3-5 |
2-3 |
7 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
24 |
| Arbuckle |
6-14 |
1-1 |
9 |
2 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
33 |
| Mingo |
2-2 |
1-1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Campanero |
1-9 |
0-0 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
30 |
| Bello |
2-8 |
0-0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
20 |
| Dew |
0-4 |
0-0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
| Tagalicod |
1-5 |
1-2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
25 |
| Gaddis |
2-3 |
2-3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
16 |
| Adolpho |
3-8 |
2-2 |
12 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
25 |
| TEAM |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
20-61 |
9-12 |
42 |
11 |
52 |
8 |
22 |
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 — Fresno State 42, Hawaii 13
3-points goals — Fresno State 14-40 (Farley 4-6, Moult 4-12, Moore 2-6, Fox 1-1, Draper 1-2, Thompson 1-2, Parrish 1-4, Goldberg 0-1, Sheedy 0-3, Wilson 0-3). Hawaii 3-12 (Gaddis 1-2, Bello 1-3, Campanero 1-4, Arbuckle 0-1, Tagalicod 0-2). Steals — Fresno State 11 (Moore 3, Moult 3, Sheedy 2, Thompson 2, Parrish). Hawaii 3 (Arbuckle, Campanero, Tagalicod). Blocked shots — Fresno State 2 (Moult 2). Hawaii 4 (Arbuckle 3, Adolpho). Officials — Jack Jones, Carla Fujimoto, Rick Throne. A — 517.
