UH tops UH-Hilo in opener

Growing up on Hawaii island, University of Hawaii guard Kanisha Bello had an idea of Hawaii-Hilo’s outside shooting ability.

Sure enough, the Vulcans hit eight from behind the arc in the first half of Friday’s regular-season opener at the Stan Sheriff Center.

But a halftime adjustment and solid inside play helped the Rainbow Wahine stifle their sister school in the second half on their way to a 60-51 win.

Sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson led the Wahine with 15 points and 15 rebounds and Bello, a Waiakea graduate who played with many of the Vulcans players on her home island, added 14 points in her UH debut.

"I just think it was a great start for our season," Bello said. "I don’t think we played as well as we hoped we would, but overall it’s a win. We just have to go over the film and see what areas we can improve on."

The Wahine owned a significant size advantage in the post and outscored the Vulcans 28-8 in the paint and built a 41-32 rebounding edge.

Center Rebecca Dew, the tallest player on the court at 6 feet 4, scored all 10 of her points in the first half and Jackson had nine rebounds in the second half as UH held the Vulcans to 6-for-30 shooting after the break.

The Wahine also created opportunities driving to the basket and made 17 of 21 free throws, with Bello making six of seven attempts.

"I thought the difference tonight was our ability to make some free throws," UH head coach Dana Takahara-Dias said.

"We didn’t help our cause by missing so many chippies and not finishing on the offensive end (in the second half). Hilo gave us a great game and a great opportunity to look at our weaknesses."

Eight of the Vulcans’ 12 first-half field goals were from 3-point range and UH-Hilo took a 34-33 lead with 1:10 left in the half on Farrington graduate Natalie Mata’s 3-pointer from the left side.

After struggling to navigate the Vulcans’ screens in the first half, the Wahine extended their 2-3 zone in the second half to better contest the outside shots. The adjustment contributed to UH-Hilo going 1-for-17 to begin the half as the Wahine stretched a five-point halftime lead to 16 midway through the second.

"We did have a couple go in and out, but it was to their credit," UH-Hilo coach David Kaneshiro said. "They did a good job of getting out on us in the sound half and we had a long dry spell."

Mata led the Vulcans with 12 points. UH’s Courtney Gaddis made three 3-pointers for a career-best nine points. UH guard Shawna Kuehu sat out the opener due to a hamstring injury.