Turnovers hurt Rainbow Wahine in loss to Florida Gulf Coast
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii’s Lily Wahinekapu drove along the baseline against Florida Gulf Coast’s Tishara Morehouse.
Florida Gulf Coast’s knack for converting defense into offense led to the Eagles’ second win over the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team in just over a week.
FGCU scored 29 points off of turnovers, 19 coming in the first half, and the Eagles held off UH’s comeback bid in a 63-50 win to close the second day of the Rainbow Wahine Shootout today at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
UH committed turnovers on six of its first eight possessions and trailed 15-1 before Lily Wahinekapu scored on a drive at the 2:30 mark of the first quarter for the team’s first field goal of the game.
The Rainbow Wahine (1-5) played the Eagles (5-1) close to even the rest of the way, closing to within six in the third quarter. But FGCU answered the UH threat to claim the rematch of last week’s 67-47 Eagles victory in the Bank of Hawaii Classic.
In the first meeting, FGCU forced 22 turnovers and scored 26 points off of takeaways. UH finished with 24 turnovers today, 11 coming in the first quarter alone.
UH guard Daejah Phillips led the Wahine with 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting. Guard Jovi Lefotu finished with eight points off the bench. Forward Kallin Spiller posted her fifth straight game with double-figure rebounds with 11 to go along with six points.
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Guard Alyza Winston led FGCU with 16 points, going 7-for-12 from the field. Sha Carter added 11, including a key 3-pointer in the third quarter to stem the UH comeback.
The Rainbow Wahine close the three-day tournament on Sunday by taking on No. 2 Stanford (7-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
