The SMU women’s basketball team improved its record to12-10 (8-5 WAC) with a 74-65 win over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors(5-16, 3-9 WAC) on Saturday afternoon before 712 fans at MoodyColiseum.
The Mustang faithful beat snowy Valentine’s Day conditionsto see senior guard Andrea Cossey lead the Ponies’ chargewith a season-high 31 points, including 21 from beyond thethree-point arc. Her seven three-pointers set a new SMUwomen’s record for a single game.
Cossey’s point total was the largest in a WAC game thisseason, and the most scored by an SMU player since 2001.
“If I have an open shot, I’m going to takeit,” Cossey said.
The game itself, however, was much closer than the finalnine-point margin may suggest. With the score tied four times,along with six lead changes, it was not until the last 2:58 ofregulation that the Ponies pulled away.
SMU did get off to a running start, obtaining first possessionfrom the tip-off, and proceeding to build a 12-2 lead in the first5:08 of play. Cossey sunk 10 of the team’s first 12 pointsand had four three-pointers and 20 points by halftime.
The Mustangs also received offensive help from sophomore guardKendall Shead, who contributed five points, seven assists and fiverebounds in the first half.
The Hawaii offense was nearly as cold as the temperatureoutside, as the Rainbow Warriors shot only 39.9 percent from thefield in the first half. In comparison, the Mustangs shot 51.9percent, leading SMU to a 36-32 lead at halftime.
The second half saw Hawaii jump out with much of the sameenthusiasm as the Mustangs had at the beginning of the game. TheRainbow Warriors went on a 7-0 run, aided by a three-pointer fromsophomore guard Amy Sanders, who finished with 13 points.
Freshman guard Janevia Taylor led Hawaii with 14 points, sixsteals and five assists.
Following the early Hawaii charge, Cossey continued herdominance in the second half, nailing three consecutivethree-pointers to regain the lead for SMU at 50-46 with 14:22 togo.
In addition to Cossey’s team-leading 31 points, senior KimWalter recorded the first double-double of the season for SMU,grabbing 10 rebounds and chipping in 10 points.
SMU made the most of 14 Rainbow Warrior fouls, led by juniorguard Kaira White, who was seven-of-eight from the free-throwline.
The Mustangs broke the game open in the final three minutes,leading by as many as 10 points with 39 seconds to play. Two freethrows by senior guard Shanta Ramdhanny gave SMU a double-digitlead they would not relinquish. Ramdhanny finished with five pointsand a team-leading three steals.
A lay up by sophomore guard Trisha Nishimoto with 25 secondsleft was not enough for Hawaii, as time ran out on a 74-65 Mustangvictory.
The win builds upon SMU’s perfect 6-0 home record in WACgames, and propels them into fourth place in the standings,trailing only Louisiana Tech and in-state rivals UTEP and Rice.
The Mustangs next meet the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at 2 p.m. onSaturday in Moody Coliseum.
