Boxscore

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Amber Obaze scored a career-high 23 points and Erica Smith-Taylor recorded her second consecutive double double with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead the 12th-ranked Lady Techsters (12-2, 5-1) to a 67-50 win over Hawaii Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Obaze, whose previous high of 22 points came against Hawaii in Honolulu during the 2001-02 season, hit on 10 of 21 field goals and 2 of 4 free throws while adding three assists and two steals in 32 minutes of action.

"I told Amber after the game that I only remember one forced shot all night long," said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. "I thought she played under control all night and did a great job offensively. With Hawaii playing a sagging zone to take away our inside game, we needed our guards to step up."

Smith-Taylor, who recorded her first career double double Thursday night with 15 points and 12 rebounds against San Jose State, continued her recent rebounding surge. During Tech's six Western Athletic Conference game, Smith-Taylor is averaging 9.3 rebounds per game with at least seven rebounds in all six games. The Wheatley, Ark., native also added three assists, two blocks and four steals in 31 minutes of action.

Tech jumped out to a 25-7 lead on a Smith-Taylor shot in the lane at the 6:32 mark of the first half before Hawaii scored nine unanswered points to cut the Lady Techsters advantage to 25-16.

Obaze scored 12 points in the first half, including the final four of the stanza, as Tech entered the halftime leading 33-21. Thirteen first half turnovers and 27 percent shooting proved costly for Hawaii (4-10, 2-3) in the opening 20 minutes.

"I thought we caused their guards a lot of problems in the first half," Budke said. "We got out in the passing lanes and really made it difficult for them to run their offensive sets."

Tech quickly upped its lead to 46-26 on a pair of free throws by Amisha Carter early in the second half and held as much as a 27-point advantage the final time coming at 65-38 before Budke emptied the Techster bench. Hawaii made the final score closer by outscoring the Techsters12-2 in the final four minutes.

Trina Frierson, who entered the game leading the WAC in scoring, finished with 10 points but hit only 5 of 14 field goals.

Janevia Taylor led Hawaii with a career-high 16 points while Jade Abele added 14 points.

Tech improved to 12-0 all-time against Hawaii, including an 8-0 mark in Honolulu.