Senior guard Jiashan Cui led the BYU–Hawaii women’s basketball team to a 59-49 victory over visiting conference opponent Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts on Feb. 11. Cui led all players with 25 points, shooting 8-17 on the night. Valerie Nawahine also added 11 points for the Lady Seasiders.
“We played great both offensively and defensively. This was a good win for us going into the last three games of the season,” said Cui, a senior business major from Beijing, China.
The Lady Seasiders also had a big game in the paint as Kjirsten Nelson, Emily Nelson, and Natallia Cravens each recorded seven rebounds, as BYUH outrebounded the Argonauts 43-36. “I thought we did a good job of working together as team and deserved the victory,” said Kjirsten Nelson, a senior history major from Colorado.
The first quarter saw the Argonauts jump out to an early 9-4 lead, but back-to-back jumpers by Kjirsten Nelson and Nawahine tied the game at 15. Kjirsten Nelson also hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Lady Seasiders up 18-17 to end the first quarter.
Cui got BYUH off to hot start in the second quarter as she went on an 8-2 run of her own to push the Seasider’s lead 26-19. After that, both teams struggled to score as the two teams combined for only 13 points. Cravens hit the back end of two free throws to send the Seasiders into halftime up 27-21.
BYUH had another hot start as they went on an 8-0 run to start off the third quarter and take a 12-point lead. Cravens and Mata Tonga continued to extend the Seasiders’ lead to 14 after hitting a pair of jumpers. A 5-0 run from Notre Dame de Namur cut the Lady Seasiders’ lead to single digits going into the final quarter.
The Argonauts continued their run into the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 2 points. With Notre Dame de Namur threatening to take the lead, Cui once again stepped up to take the lead and scored four points to put the Lady Seasiders ahead 47-41.
With the Argonauts fouling in the last minutes of the game, the Lady Seasiders were clutch from the free throw line, hitting 10 of 14.
The clutch free throws closed the game out for the Lady Seasiders as they held on to a 59-49 victory. With the win, BYUH improved to 9-12 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Lady Seasiders are currently in 9th place with three games remaining.
“It was a good team win. If we keep up the hard work and playing as a team, we can finish the season on a positive note,” said Nawahine, a senior English major from Laie. T
hey will face inner-state rival Chaminade in Honolulu Saturday, Feb. 20. Their last home game will be Tuesday, Feb. 23, against Azusa Pacific.