Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii at Hilo went up against a one-women wrecking crew, was generous with turnovers and got badly outrebounded.
The Vulcans overcame it all with balance and defense.
No wonder women’s basketball coach Dave Kaneshiro sounded so pleased Thursday.
Kamie Imai led five players in double figures with 16 points and UHH held of Minnesota State-Moorhead 67-66 at the Oahu Classic at McKinley Gym in Honolulu.
Senior guard Shannon Rousseau hit all four of her 3-pointers for 14 points and senior guard added Jameia McDuffie added 12 for the Vulcans (2-0), who led 35-30 at halftime.
“Really, really happy with the win,” Kaneshiro said. “Ladies played really hard. We actually trailed for most of the second half, but just hung tough. We hit some timely shots when we needed to. And we got some key defense stops at the end of the game.
“Everybody contributed. A team win. We’ll enjoy it and try to get one more (today).”
UHH will play Shippenburg, Pa., at 4 p.m. today. The Raiders (3-1) trounced BYU-Hawaii 82-57 on Friday.
UHH overcame a huge effort by 6-foot junior forward Megan Strese, who scored 21 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for the Dragons (2-1), who held a commanding 48-30 edge on the boards.
Imai, a Waiakea graduate and first-year Vul after transferring from Division I Utah State, made 8 of 12 from the field as UHH shot 44.6 percent. McDuffie also had the hot hand, shooting 5 for 6, while Rousseau was 5 of 7.
Senior guard Kirsten Shimizu scored 11 points with five assists, and junior forward Jazzmyn Davis had 10 points and five rebounds.
Strese was 7 of 13 from the floor and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, but the Vulcans held the Raiders to 35.5 percent shooting, part of the reason why they were able to overcome 20 turnovers. The Raiders committed 19 turnovers.
Senior guard Marisa Yernatich had 15 points, while junior forward Morgan Zabel added 10 for Moorhead.
UHH 35 32 —67
Moorhead 30 36—66