More photos: Wahine vs North Carolina »

At least it was about even in the second half.

That was Hawaii’s consolation prize as North Carolina State crushed UH by 29 points in the first period en route to an 84-54 win and the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational title on Friday night.

A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 476 watched NC State (10-3) steal the opening tip for a layup, then sprint to an insurmountable lead by punishing UH (5-10) with 30 points off 22 turnovers.

The Wahine committed seven giveaways in the first 5 minutes and 15 in the dismal first half, which UH coach Dana Takahara-Dias chalked up to being "fearful and hesitant." They had no assists at halftime, with the score reading 49-20.

If there was a positive against the team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, it was that UH was outscored only by a point in the second half.

"From (tipoff) we were shell-shocked and unable to get into a rhythm or a flow," Takahara-Dias said. "Obviously we were putting in people and trying combinations, and none worked. It’s hard to go into halftime being so down and expect to win this game. So it’s a moral victory."

The Wolfpack repeatedly scored in transition regardless of a Wahine make or a miss — and a season-low 22.4 percent shooting meant usually a miss — in building a 38-point lead.

With an 0-for-12 start from the field — and a 4-for-28 (14.3 percent) outing by halftime — UH’s only recourse was to see how close it could get it in the second half to try to build a few positives going into Western Athletic Conference play. But UH won’t play another game for two weeks; its WAC opener is at San Jose State on Jan. 14.

Freshman point guard Alissa Campanero was a bright spot as she scored 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from long range. No one else, however, posted anything close to efficient numbers as UH finished the last of its round-robin nonconference tournaments 1-2.

UH managed a more respectable six assists against seven turnovers in the second half.

"The first half was definitely tough. We just gotta start doing what the coaches are telling us," Campanero said. "But at halftime we really rallied together as a team and made the adjustments, followed our leaders and really trusted each other. Came out with more passion."

Sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson (13 points and nine rebounds) was one of several Wahine to play hard to the finish. Sophomore guard Sydney Haydel added nine points and three steals but shot 2-for-17 from the field.

Senior forward Breanna Arbuckle went 0-for-5, but was named to the all-tournament team for her play the first two days of the tourney.

"I think we were happy with the second half, but a basketball game is comprised of two halves and we did not take care of the complete game," Takahara-Dias said. "We are at the point of our season where we expect our team to play two complete halves, and we didn’t. But we are always the positive crew in that we are looking at the fact that we played tough, with grittiness and some courage.

"However, we let the game go and we cannot allow that in the WAC season."

UH got on the board with a pair of free throws from Haydel at the 13:49 mark of the first half.

But the hurting didn’t stop, as the Wahine didn’t drop in their first field goal until 10:35 left in the period, when backup center Rebecca Dew got a putback.

Backup guard Breezy Williams led NC State with 15 points.

Earlier Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center, Florida Gulf Coast defeated Alcorn State 85-38.