BYU claims first Maui Classic win
Purcell helps Cougars hand Lady Rebels first loss of season, 63-54
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.”
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 (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.
“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
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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.
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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