The WAC earned three wins in the final women's basketball games of 2006. Fresno State captured a road win against Pepperdine. Utah State surpassed last season's win total with the Aggies' fourth win of the year, knocking off Colgate, 58-42. Boise State earned its ninth win of the season with a victory over instate rival Idaho State.
Boise State 86, Idaho State 78
The Boise State women’s basketball team handed cross-state rival Idaho State a hard fought 86-78 loss Saturday afternoon at Taco Bell Arena in Boise. The Broncos broke a tight game open with a 17-4 run midway though the second half and never looked back as they recorded the 500th win in program history. The game was the final non-conference contest of the season for Boise State as the Broncos improve to 9-4 on the year and increase their series lead over ISU to 41-18 all-time.
The game was close throughout the 40 minutes of action, especially in the first half which saw 10 ties and eight lead changes as the teams combined for 88 first half points and a 44-44 tie at intermission. Junior Jackie Lee led the Broncos with 11 first half points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the three-point arc.
Fresno State 68, Pepperdine 59
A late run in the second half helped key the Bulldogs to a win Saturday against the Pepperdine Waves 68-59. Down three with 12:24 remaining in the second half, the Bulldogs reeled off 13 unanswered points to grab a lead they would never relinquish. Tierre Wilson scored 18 points for the Bulldogs, and Paige Diggs added 15. Defensively, the Bulldogs made a season-high 17 steals, helping to cause 28 Pepperdine turnovers on the night.
Oklahoma State 78, Hawai`i 64
Oklahoma State used a pair of second-half runs to defeat Hawai`i, 78-64, and capture the Bank of Hawai`i Invitational championship Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine dropped to 6-6 with the loss.
After trailing 33-30 at intermission, the Cowgirls (12-1) blitzed the Rainbow Wahine with a 20-4 run to begin the second half. UH game back to tie the game, 56-56, with six minutes remaining, but Oklahoma State out-scored UH, 22-8, to end the game.
Rashidat Sadiq led four Cowgirls in double figures with 19 points. Shaunte Smith scored 18, Danielle Green poured in 17 and tournament MVP Andrea Riley notched 12 points and eight assists.
Janevia Taylor scored a team-high 17 points for the Rainbow Wahine, while Tanya Smith recorded her first double-double of the season and sixth of her career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Brittany Grice, who missed Friday night's game, did not start but returned to action with 18 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points.
No. 6 LSU 61, Louisiana Tech 44
Sylvia Fowles scored all 18 of her game-high points in the second half leading 6th ranked LSU to a 61-44 win over Louisiana Tech before 5,584 fans at the New Orleans Arena Saturday afternoon.
With Fowles on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half, Tech built a slim 20-19 lead before the 6-foot-6-inch junior center took over during the final 20 minutes of play.
A great defensive effort by Tech in the first half held LSU to only 30 percent (9-30) shooting as the Lady Techsters did much of their offensive damage from the free throw line, hitting 8-of-9 in the first half and 14-of-17 for the game.
However, with Fowles on the floor, LSU hit 19-of-37 shots in the second half as the Tigers outscored Tech 42-24 in the second half.
Ty Moore led Louisiana Tech with 14 points and nine rebounds while Metoyer added a career-high 11 boards.
Santa Clara 71, San Jose State 59
Natalie White led three Spartans in double-figure scoring with 15 points, but the San Jose State University women’s basketball team was topped by Santa Clara University in the non-conference finale for both sides at The Event Center on Saturday, December 30.
White scored her points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. She added five rebounds and three assists, with both totals matching career highs for the sophomore guard. Alisha Hicks and Brittany Powell collected 12 and 10 points, respectively, in starting roles for SJSU. Myosha Barnes and Jaime Hall shared the game high with eight rebounds apiece, marking a career high for both sophomores. Barnes also provided eight points, three assists and a game-high three steals, with Kalia Williams producing a career-high eight points off the bench.
Utah State 58, Colgate 42
Utah State women's basketball team surpassed last season's win total with the Aggies' fourth win of the year, knocking off Colgate, 58-42, Saturday night at the Iowa State American Family Insurance Cyclone Classic at ISU's Hilton Coliseum. The 42 points was the fewest points allowed by the USU defense since 1984 and was the Aggies' largest margin of victory since 2005.
The win improves Utah State to 4-8 on the season, the program's fourth year back since being discontinued from 1987-2003. Last year the Aggies were 3-24.
USU held Southern Idaho to 44 points in a 78-44 Aggie win on Nov. 27, 1984, and then the Utah State beat Southern Idaho again, 96-39, nine days later on Dec. 3, 1984.