The numbers never added up for Hawaii on Friday afternoon at the Duel in the Desert women’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The Rainbow Wahine were not just trading 2s for 3s against 10th-ranked Oregon, they often were trading 0s for 3s and 2s when shooting just 33 percent from the floor at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
Add the proficiency and efficiency by the Ducks — 48 percent from the floor, 41 percent when hitting 11 3-pointers — and Hawaii got on the plane heading out for Christmas break after an 85-44 defeat. It was the second straight loss to a ranked team in a three-day span for Hawaii (6-6) which concluded a third-day road trip 1-2.
“We had good looks, wide-open looks, and couldn’t knock down our shots,” Wahine coach Laura Beeman said in telephone call. “You can’t do that against the caliber of a team like Oregon. We weren’t able to match their shooting.
“I thought we came out ready to play. We just didn’t shoot the ball well.”
While Hawaii had just sophomore guard Julissa Tago in double-figure scoring (11 points), Oregon had three, led by reigning Pac-12 freshman of the year Sabrina Ionescu. The 5-foot-11 sophomore guard was as good as advertised, finishing with game-highs of 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals en route to being named the tournament’s MVP.
“She’s a heck of a shooter,” Beeman said of Ionescu, who was 7-for-13 from the floor with three 3-pointers. “When she’s done, she’s going to go down as one of the best, if not THE best to come out of the NCAA.”
Ionescu had plenty of help early as the Ducks used runs of 7-0 and 12-2 to run out to a 44-24 halftime lead. Senior guard Lexi Brando scored all of her 14 points in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Oregon dominated the third quarter 21-8 with sophomore forward Ruthy Hebard scoring 10 of the Ducks’ first 12 points in the third quarter. The 6-4 Hebard was 8-for-10 from the floor, finishing with 18 points.
Wahine junior point guard Tia Kanoa was named to the all-tournament team. She had four points, three assists and two rebounds against the Ducks.
For the second game in a row, Hawaii couldn’t not match an opponent’s inside game and were outscored 36-12 in the paint on Friday.
Despite the score, Beeman said she was happy with a few things as the Wahine look to their final nonconference game next Saturday at home against Hawaii Pacific. One was the play of Tago, who “hit a couple of pretty shots,” Beeman said. “We wanted her to make a change from the Texas A&M game (a 103-59 loss on Wednesday), be more aggressive, and she was.
“We also didn’t allow the scoreboard to dictate our attitude. I think we learned that at times we can play at a high level, we just don’t maintain it. I think the girls are excited to know the level they are capable of. As a team, we can either act as a mid-major or have attitude that we can play and compete at the highest level. We have the talent, we have the ability, now we need the commitment.”
Hawaii returns to the practice gym on Wednesday to prepare for the Sharks (9-2). The focus will be on shooting, shooting and more shooting, according to Beeman.
“This all came down to us not shooting the ball well,” she said. “We’ll get back in the gym and shoot.”
