Jan. 28, 2006
Box Score
HONOLULU - Nevada picked up its fourth straight win with a solid effort for 40 minutes as they upended Hawai`i here 66-61 Saturday night. It is the first time in three years Nevada has won that many consecutive games.
The Pack (7-12, 3-4 WAC) fell behind early but took a 14-12 lead at the 11:43 mark and would eventually take a 14-point advantage, 32-18, at the 3:40 mark. But Nevada would not score again in the half as Hawai`i went on an 11-0 run in that final 3:40 to close the gap to 32-29 at the intermission.
The lead changed five times and was tied on six occasions during the game.
Traci Graham had 11 first-half points but finished with 13 before fouling out with 1:53 remaining. Brandi Fitzgerald again led the Pack with 17 points and Kate Saltmarsh added nine, including the final three points on free throws in the last seven seconds.
Nevada forced Hawai`i into 32 turnovers and Nevada had 26 points off those, including 19 steals. The Pack was effective at the charity stripe hitting 19 of 25. It was the first win in 10 tries for Nevada against Hawai`i in Honolulu.
"This was a huge win for our program. The stars were kind of aligned for us tonight. We played hard and aggressive and our defense caused a lot of turnovers. We wanted to set the tone with our defense tonight. I am happy for the win because we haven't won a WAC game on the road in my three years here so it's been a long time coming," Head Coach Kim Gervasoni said.
Fitzgerald had 13 of her points in the second half. "Brandi does a lot on both ends of the floor. She has an amazing ability to get a shot off multiple ways. She's an explosive and athletic player. She's just coming into her own as a college player and she's only a freshman. She was a big player for us to recruit and to sign and she's our go-to player," Gervasoni said.
For Hawai`i (11-7, 2-5 WAC), Amy Sanders led them with 19 points. Hawai`i did have a 37-30 lead in rebounds but Nevada shot .438 to .379 for Hawai`i from the field.
Nevada returns home Sunday evening and then will host Louisiana Tech Thursday night at 7 p.m. and New Mexico State Saturday at 2 p.m., both at Lawlor Events Center.
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