Box Score
RUSTON, La. - Hawai`i closed its regular-season conference schedule with a 91-52 loss at #18 Louisiana Tech Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center. The Rainbow Wahine saw their five-game win streak and four-game road win streak snapped as they dropped to 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the WAC.
Despite the loss, UH finished in third place in the WAC, its highest conference finish since the 2001-02 season. Meanwhile, the Lady Techsters (23-4, 15-1 WAC) clinched the outright conference title and the top seed in next week's WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev., with the win. It's Louisiana Tech's fifth straight regular-season WAC title.
Aarica Ray-Boyd scored a game-high 25 points to lead four Lady Techsters in double-figures. Fellow senior Tasha Williams became the third Lady Techster record a triple double when she posted 10 points, 11 assists and 10 steals in her final home appearance. Tanya Smith, who made her first career start, scored the team's first six points of the game and led UH with 11 points. Smith replaced starting center Brittany Grice who was suspended for the game due to a violation of team policy.
Louisiana Tech never trailed in the game, building a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes. UH went scoreless for a seven minutes stretch in the first half as the Lady Techsters expanded a 12- point lead to a 24-point halftime bulge. La Tech continedu the onslaught in the second half, scoring the first 10 points of the frame.
Louisiana Tech continued a slew of impressive streaks. The Lady Techsters won their 12th straight game and hold the second longest home win streak in the nation at 21 straight. They also remained undefeated at home (44-0) versus the WAC and have notched 111 straight home conference wins spanning 14 seasons.
UH, meanwhile, lost to the Lady Techsters for the 16th time in 17 meetings and lost for the 20 straight time versus a ranked opponent. Hawai`i entered the matchup having taken the Lady Techsters to overtime in each of the last two meetings, including a 79-78 win in Honolulu last year. But it was a different story this year as Louisiana Tech put up the most points against a Rainbow Wahine squad in nearly 15 years.
UH next heads to Reno, Nev., for the 2006 WAC Tournament, March 7-11. The No. 3 seed Rainbow Wahine will face No. 6 Boise State in a quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, March 7. Tipoff is at noon PST.
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