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BYU claims first Maui Classic win

Purcell helps Cougars hand Lady Rebels first loss of season, 63-54

BYU’s Kalani Purcell shoots over UNLV’s Katie Powell in the first quarter of their Maui Jim Maui Classic game at War Memorial Gym on Friday evening. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

WAILUKU — With her first name, Kalani Purcell knew the questions were coming.

“People are always like, ‘Are you Hawaiian?’ I’m like, ‘No, I wish,’ “ the Brigham Young University senior forward said after scoring 16 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out seven assists to lead the Cougars to a 63-54 win over Nevada-Las Vegas in the first game of the inaugural Maui Jim Maui Classic on Friday night.

Purcell had game highs in scoring and assists, while sharing the rebounds lead with teammates Cassie Broadhead and Makenzie Pulsipher.

Purcell, a native of New Zealand who has Samoan ancestry, quickly became a favorite of the crowd of about 500 fans in War Memorial Gym.

“I actually wasn’t expecting that many people to be here,” Purcell said. “I knew we had some parents from the girls, and there’s definitely going to be some BYU fans in Hawaii, but I wasn’t expecting the crowd to be as big as it is. It was nice that they weren’t just sitting there — they were actually cheering and it wasn’t just for our team, it was for both teams. It was a nice atmosphere all around.”

BYU players celebrate a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter Friday at War Memorial Gym. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

The Cougars (4-2) struggled in the first quarter, falling behind 21-13. BYU allowed UNLV to shoot just 13-for-52 after the opening period as the Cougars climbed within one point at halftime, and took a 39-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.

“I think the first quarter was just a bit rough for all of us,” Purcell said. “We were just getting the feel for the gym, the court and their team and stuff. The weather as well, we were all, like, sweating in the warmups. I think after the first quarter we all kind of just settled down.

“It was just easy to just relax a little bit — that was the case for a lot of us. We were able to just relax, so I was able to feel my game more than I have been, which was nice.”

BYU coach Jeff Judkins liked what he saw from his defense, especially in the second and third quarters when the Lady Rebels shot a combined 6-for-33.

“I thought our zone was really effective tonight,” Judkins said. “We haven’t played it all year. That’s the first time we’ve played zone all year and we’ve been working on it when teams can beat us off the dribble, but I thought our guards were really active up top. It’s a great team win. I thought we could play better, but we played well enough tonight to win.”

UNLV’s Nikki Wheatley dives for a loose ball in the fourth quarter. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

UNLV (5-1) came into the game unbeaten, a fact that was not lost on Purcell. Dakota Gonzalez led three Lady Rebels in double-figure scoring with 12 points.

“That was kind of one of our goals coming in because they’re 5-0, we need to make it a win, but it was definite, like, ‘We need to win this game,’ “ Purcell said. “Especially because our record is not as good as their’s, so we had to win this game.”

UNLV’s Brooke Johnson hit a jumper to bring her team within 54-52 with 2 minutes, 13 seconds to play, but the Cougars closed the game on a 9-2 run.

UNLV coach Kathy Olivier said her team “didn’t hit as many shots as we normally do. BYU sat in that zone, they were active, they were playing personnel. I didn’t think we got a lot of good looks. We needed to be a little more patient.”

Olivier was impressed with the crowded gym.

The Cougars’ Cassie Broadhead (right) battles for a fourth-quarter rebound with the Lady Rebels’ Katie Powell. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

“I thought the atmosphere was awesome,” Olivier said. “When we walked in before everyone got here you could tell that the community took a lot of pride in putting on this event.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

UNLV (54)

Gonzalez 6-15 0-0 12, Powell 4-13 1-2 11, Strawther 3-6 4-5 10, Wheatley 3-13 1-6 7, Johnson 2-13 2-2 6, Tucker 2-5 0-0 6, Bell 0-1 2-2 2, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Sheppard 0-0 0-0 0, Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-68 10-17 54.

BYU (63)

Purcell 6-10 4-7 16, Nielson 6-13 0-0 14, Pulsipher 4-10 4-5 13, Broadhead 3-8 5-7 11, Moody 0-2 1-2 1, Salmon 4-6 0-2 8, Chase 0-0 0-0 0, Orton 0-0 0-0 0, Wayment 0-0 0-0 0, Chatman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 14-23 63.

UNLV    21      5      9    19–54

BYU       13    12    14    24–63

_______________

MAUI JIM MAUI CLASSIC

At War Memorial Gym

Friday’s Results

BYU 63, UNLV 54

No. 24 Oregon St. 60, Idaho 49

Today’s Games

Idaho (2-4) vs. UNLV (5-1), 4:30 p.m.

Oregon St. (4-1) vs. BYU (4-2), 6:30 p.m.

_______________

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Friday’s Results

WOMEN

EAST

Binghamton 80, Fairleigh Dickinson 69

Columbia 76, Mass.-Lowell 57

George Washington 81, VCU 67

Iona 70, Manhattan 53

Niagara 66, Monmouth (NJ) 45

Rider 71, Canisius 70

SOUTH

Belmont 87, Trevecca Nazarene 56

Clemson 69, Maine 61

Coastal Carolina 91, Pfeiffer 49

James Madison 71, Hampton 50

Radford 70, UNC-Greensboro 54

W. Carolina 62, Florida A&M 61

MIDWEST

Cincinnati 60, Tennessee Tech 38

Dayton 61, Morgan St. 42

Illinois 56, IPFW 33

Marquette 77, W. Illinois 61

Michigan St. 81, Oakland 74

Missouri 73, Missouri St. 49

N. Illinois 81, Bradley 51

SIU-Edwardsville 71, Utah Valley 64

South Florida 74, Butler 59

Wichita St. 69, Arkansas St. 51

SOUTHWEST

Cent. Arkansas 102, Crowley’s Ridge 31

FAR WEST

BYU 63, UNLV 54

Colorado St. 77, SE Louisiana 31

Loyola Marymount 57, UC Santa Barbara 55

Montana St. 75, Carroll College 44

Oregon St. 60, Idaho 49

Seattle 60, Montana 44

UC Davis 75, San Diego St. 55

Vanderbilt 75, Air Force 49

Wyoming 68, S. Utah 48

Washington St. 83, San Diego 73

MEN

AP TOP 25

No. 13 Indiana 83, SIU-Edwardsville 60

EAST

Canisius 77, Manhattan 76

Delaware 64, Delaware St. 49

Duquesne 64, Pittsburgh 55

Iona 79, St. Peter’s 65

Marist 72, Niagara 66

SOUTH

N. Dakota St. 85, NC A&T 67

SC-Upstate 80, Campbell 73

St. John’s 95, Tulane 75

The Citadel 108, Colgate 101

MIDWEST

Kent St. 86, Grambling St. 57

SOUTHWEST

SMU 49, CS Bakersfield 43

Texas 77, Alabama 68

FAR WEST

San Francisco 82, Lamar 63

 

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