Hot shooting Rainbow Wahine get first road win
Hawaii’s hottest shooting performance of the season carried the Rainbow Wahine basketball team to an 87-79 Big West win over Cal Poly today in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Guard Sarah Toeaina led three UH players in double figures with a career-high 25 points, Briana Harris tied her career best with 24 and the Rainbow Wahine (6-10, 2-2 Big West) shot 57 percent from the field in their first road win of the season.
Freshman Julissa Tago posted a season-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and forward Makenna Woodfolk went 4-for-5 in an eight-point, nine-rebound performance.
Lynn Leaupepe led Cal Poly with 21 points and forward Hannah Gilbert had 14 before fouling out.
The Rainbow Wahine hit six of their first seven shots from the field and sustained their hot shooting to take a 43-37 lead into halftime. UH shot 63 percent before the break to post its highest first-half point total of the season.
Tago hit her first five shots, including a 3-pointer, and passed her previous season best with 11 points in the first half. The Wahine led by as many as 11, but Cal Poly remained within striking distance in shooting 48.5 percent.
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Cal Poly closed to within four late in the third quarter, but Tago drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give UH a 62-57 lead going into the final period.
UH stretched the lead to 12 with 1:48 left but an 8-for-16 stretch from the free-throw line helped Cal Poly close to within five with 19.8 seconds left.
But Harris made three of her next four foul shots to fend off the Cal Poly comeback and UH posted its second highest point total of the season, falling just short of the 88 the Wahine scored against Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 11.
UH continues its road trip Saturday at UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos knocked off first-place Long Beach State 65-60 today.