Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. - Hawaii closed out its regular-season conference schedule with a 64-48 loss to Fresno State Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center and could be without its best player for next week's WAC Tournament. UH dropped to 11-14 and finished in seventh place in the WAC with a 7-11 record after its fourth loss in the last five games

The big loss however, could be that of Jade Abele who went down twice in the first half with injury. The senior forward initially injured her left knee with 13:47 on the clock in the first half, then returned with her knee wrapped at the 3:47 mark. Less than two minutes later, Abele re-injured the knee and left the game for good. Her status for next week's WAC Tournament first round game is not known.

Fresno State (19-9, 10-8 WAC) broke open a tied game at the break by scoring 40 points in the second half to win its fourth straight game and secure, at worst, a fifth seed for the tournament. The lead ballooned to as many as 21 points for the Bulldogs as UH finished with 25 turnovers.

Janevia Taylor led UH with 14 points, while Amy Sanders chipped in 11 for the Rainbow Wahine. Fresno State countered with the trio of Amy Parrish (20 points) Aritta Lane (19) and Mirenda Swearengin (17).

The first half was tightly a contested one. Neither team led by more than six points and they went into the locker room tied, 24-24. Taylor and Sanders carried the team offensively in the first half combining for 20 of the team's 24 points.

Fresno State eventually separated itself in the second half. It was only a five-point game, 40-35, with about 10 minutes, but the Bulldogs scored seven straight points in a 27-second span to build a commanding lead 47-35. UH immediately cut the lead to nine points, but after that it was all Bulldogs.

The Rainbow Wahine next head back to Reno for the 2005 WAC Tournament. UH will face Nevada for the second time in less than a week when the seventh-seeded Rainbow Wahine face the 10th-seeded Wolf Pack on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. PST.

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