Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 55-40 loss to host New Mexico State in the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday night at the Pan American Center. UH ended the year with a 12-18 overall mark, its first losing season in three years.
Hawai`i's drought in the WAC Tournament continued with its fifth straight loss in its opening game. UH has not won a conference tournament game since the 2003 quarterfinals in Tulsa, Okla.
The teams met just four days ago in Honolulu as the Aggies erased a 19-point deficit and hit the winning basket in the final seconds to beat the Bows in the regular-season finale. The result this time around was equally frustrating for the Rainbow Wahine. UH which entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, suffered its worst offensive performance of the year, scoring a season-low 40 points, while shooting just 25 percent from the floor.
Meanwhile, the third-seeded Aggies advanced to the tournament semifinals for the third straight year, while improving to 22-8 overall.
Hawai`i sealed its fate with a miserable shooting performance in the first half. The Rainbow Wahine missed 19 of its first 21 shots and by halftime had shot just 17 percent (5-of-29).
New Mexico State also struggled in the first half but turned it on late and took a nine point lead, 23-14, into the locker room. The Rainbow Wahine shot decidedly better in the second half and stayed within striking distance, but would get no closer than seven points.
Post players Tanya Smith (11) and Tara Hittle (11) combined for 21 points to lead UH. Smith, a two-time all-conference pick, played her final game in a UH uniform and posted her 20th double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough for UH who were out-rebounded, 48-34.
Madison Spence notched a game-high 20 points and four assists for the Aggies. First-team all-conference forward Sherell Neal added 12 points and 13 rebounds.
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