Nov. 29, 2002

Box Score

HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Gonzaga University's poor shooting night from the field, a strong inside game by the University of Hawai'i and a 23-for-34 night from the free throw line for the hosts added up to a 71-61 Rainbow Wahine victory in the 24th annual Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

With 6-2 forward Natasja Allen scoring 18 points and 6-0 forward Jade Abele adding 15 the Rainbow Wahine went inside often against the Bulldogs. Guard April Atuaia kept the Bulldogs honest from the outside with 17 points and also contributed to the 38-29 rebounding edge with a game-high 11 boards.

The Bulldogs stayed in the contest for the first 20 minutes, erasing an early 7-point deficit and pulling to within one at 25-24 with 6:45 to go. But the Rainbow Wahine scored the next seven points for a 32-26 lead as the Bulldogs hit one of several scoring droughts in the contest, this one for 3:52. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Triana Allen and Shannon Mathews cut the Gonzaga deficit to 36-34 in the final minute of the half, but an Amy Sanders layin gave Hawai'i a 38-36 halftime lead.

Gonzaga got the first basket of the second half on a Delphine Lecoultre shot from the top of the arc 30 seconds into the half, but another spell of 6:08 without a field goal - and only an Ashley Anderson free throw for the GU scoring in that stretch - pushed the Hawai'i lead to 49-36 before Ashley Burke's hook from the right block ended field goal drought and cut the lead to 51-41 with 11:48 remaining.

But again the Rainbow Wahine took advantage of Gonzaga's inability to score, running off the next seven points for a 58-41 lead before Lecoultre's jumper from the free throw line ended a Bulldog scoreless streak of 5:38. Lecoultre's basket propelled Gonzaga on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 58-50, Burke's trey from the top of the circle and Anne Bailey's 3-pointer from the right top of the arc doing a bulk of the damage.

Mathews' 3-point play and a Raeanna Jewell layin sandwiched around a Natasja Allen jumper from the free throw line pulled Gonzaga with within 62-55 with 1:39 to go, but back-to-back layins by Abele and Atuaia were the insurance the Rainbow Wahine needed. After Burke's jumper from the left side, the Bulldogs were forced to foul and Hawai'i converted 5-of-6 free throws in a 16-second run to wrap up the win.

"We had some good looks in the second half, they just didn't go," Gonzaga head coach Kelly Graves said of his team's 35.9 percent night (23-of-64) from the field. "We have to get ourselves into position to go to the line, be aggressive on offense and put some pressure on their defense. We didn't do that tonight when our perimeter game wasn't carrying us."

Only Burke's 6-of-10 from the field was respectable as she paced the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points. Mathews added 14 points, going 5-for-14 from the field including 3-for-9 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs went 8-of-24 from beyond the arc.

The Rainbow Wahine, meanwhile, combined their 23-of-34 night from the free throw line with a 51.2 percent performance from the field (22-of-43).

Gonzaga will meet the University of Denver in Saturday's 5:20 p.m. PST loser's bracket game. The Pioneers fell to fourth-ranked and defending national champion University of Connecticut in Friday's late game. Gonzaga will conclude play in the tournament on Sunday.

In the other half of the bracket on Friday, the University of Oklahoma stopped Fordham University 90-62, and the University of North Carolina defeated DePaul University 82-66.