Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Danielle Kooyman scored 18 points Saturday as the University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s basketball team defeated BYU-Hawaii 66-50 in Laie, Oahu.
“Danielle gave us a lift in the first half and was very active,” Vulcans coach David Kaneshiro said. “I thought we played hard considering last week was finals and this was kind of a tough week.”
McKenzie Mangino added 12 points for UHH (3-5, 2-2 Pacific West Conference) on 5-of-8 shooting with six rebounds. Kamie Imai and Thea Hanato-Smith each added eight points and Haley Reynolds had seven for the Lady Vuls, who led 35-20 at halftime.
Kaneshiro signaled out Whitney Eden’s play defensively as the Vulcans held the Seasiders (0-8, 0-3) to 30.8 percent shooting.
UHH shot 43.1 percent from the field — including 4 of 9 from 3-point range in the second half — and hit 12 of 15 from the free-throw line.
“The effort was good,” Kaneshiro said. “We still have some things we need to improve upon.”
Danna Lynn Hooper led BYU-Hawaii with 19 points.
The Vuls next host Dixie State on Dec. 2 at UHH Gym.
USC 66, Hawaii 55: Ariya Crook scored 18 points and Desiree Bradley tallied 10 of her 11 points in the second half as the Trojans overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win in Los Angeles.
Bradley hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to ignite a 10-0 second-half surge that saw USC (6-5) take a a 43-40 lead with 12:10 remaining in the game. Ashleigh Karaitiana made a layup to get UH back to within one, but Bradley answered with another 3 to help the Trojans pull away.
The Rainbow Wahine made only 25 percent of their shots in the second half. Karaitiana led UH with 13 points, and Shawna-Lei Kuehu and Morgan Mason each had 10.
Cassie Harberts compiled 16 points and seven rebounds for USC, which won the battle of the boards 45-29. Like her team, Crook lived at the free-throw line, finishing 11 of 14. The Trojans were 25 of 38 for the game.