The University of Hawai`i at Hilo women’s basketball team dealt with another cold shooting spell in the opening game of the 2013 PacWest Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament. It’s hard to overcome it when you opponent is lighting up the opposite net.
UH Hilo shot 27.3 percent in the first half and trailed big at halftime before falling to Dixie State College 81-63 in the inaugural tournament’s quarterfinal matchup, held at the campus of Azusa Pacific University.
Despite scoring first with a Jameia McDuffie basket, the Vulcans’ could not control the game at the start, as Dixie State quickly answered anything UHH put through the basket. UH Hilo’s biggest lead was two throughout the game’s first eight minutes, while Dixie State led by as much as seven.
The turning point came with under twelve minutes to play in the first half when Dixie State turned a miniscule 19-15 lead and exploded the game open with a 12-0 scoring run that lasted nearly nine minutes. UH Hilo shot 0-14 during that stretch and turned the ball over four times. The Red Storm went into the locker room with a 37-19 lead.
UH Hilo (13-11) kept battling throughout the second half but were unable to get the big lead down below 15 points before falling by 18 points when the final buzzer sounded.
For the game, the Vulcans shot 35.4 percent from the field (23-for-65), 16.7 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-18), and 63.6 percent from the charity stripe (14-for-22). UHH was outrebounded by 12 and turned the ball over 17 times.
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McDuffie scored 17 points and tallied four steals to lead the Vulcans in their final game of the season. Forward Jazzmyn Davis came off of the bench to score 14 points and grab nine rebounds.
Dixie State (15-12) barely cooled from the field throughout the game, hitting 54.9 percent of the 51 shots they took. They also got to the free throw line 29 times, making 22 of their attempts.
Mandy Munns came off of the bench to lead DSC with 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Johnna Brown, who took a year off from basketball last season, scored 18 points and brought down eight rebounds, and guard Erica Hayes scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out six assists.
Fourth-seeded Dixie State will take on the tourney’s top seed, Hawai`i Pacific University, today at 1:00 p.m. Hawai`i time for a spot in the tournament championship.
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