Basketball loses first home game (Photo by Nate Regan, The Daily Campus )
Trying to regain momentum after a heartbreaking loss in Reno, Nev. last Saturday, the women’s basketball team played host to the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine last night, hoping to take advantage of a WAC opponent with a 5-5 record and only one conference win.
The two teams were kept neck-in-neck for much of the first half, and neither took full advantage of field goal opportunities until a trio of Mustangs caught fire beyond the arc with just over 11 minutes to play in the half. Three-pointers from sophomore Katie Gross and juniors Sarah Davis and Kendall Shead helped SMU flirt with a double-digit lead as halftime approached.
Freshman Janielle Dodds, whose name has frequently appeared among the top scorers on the team, made her physical presence felt against the Rainbow Wahine by grabbing key rebounds on both sides of the court. Dodds, who finished with eight boards, hit a free throw with 1:00 remaining to push SMU’s advantage to 39-31 going into halftime.
Less than five minutes into the second half, however, Hawaii made an offensive push to narrow the Ponies’ lead to one point at 44-43. As the half progressed, two members of the Rainbow Wahine began to wear the ‘Stangs down on both sides of the floor.
Center Alofa Toiaivao, who hit fifty percent of her shots from the field, soon became a nuisance for members of the Mustang offense trying to score in the paint. The 6-foot-3 sophomore used her size and quick hands to corral the scoring opportunities of Davis and Dodds.
On the opposite end of the hardwood, junior guard Amy Sanders helped Hawaii to leapfrog past the Mustangs near the eight-minute mark. Two consecutive three-pointers from the Huntington Beach, Calif. native left SMU on the short end of a 61-55 score.
The Mustangs got to within striking distance with 3:05 left to play, and freshman Katy Cobb helped SMU pull even at 63 with just over two minutes remaining on the clock.
Sanders and Toiaivao, however, would halt a Mustang rally once again, as consecutive buckets by the pair put the Rainbow Wahine ahead, 67-63, as the clock entered the final minute.
Though they led by eight at halftime, the Mustangs could not seem to overcome the multi-faceted prowess presented by Toiaivao and Sanders down the stretch. While SMU’s field goal percentage fell from 42.1 percent in the first half to 27 percent in the second, the Rainbow Wahine returned to the court to pour in 41.7percent, making for a runaway second half score of 39-24.
In the end, three Mustangs reached double digits in points, including Cobb with 10, Shead with 12, and Dodds with a team-best 16. Shead also swiped five steals off Hawaii players and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
SMU (12-3, 3-2 WAC) will next hit the court tomorrow when the San Jose State Spartans (9-4, 2-1 WAC) come to town. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at Moody Coliseum.
