Hawaii trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half, but mounted a furious rally to catch St. Mary’s at the end of regulation to force overtime. However, UH’s comeback effort fell just short as the Gaels (21-10, 13-5 WCC) held on to advance with a 92-88 overtime victory in a first round WNIT Friday night at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
Senior Shawna-Lei Kuehu scored 15 second half points, including two clutch free throws with 3.6-seconds left to tie the game at 75-75 to take the game to OT. Hawaii’s Briana Harris scored a career-high 24 points while Kuehu added 19 and Ashleigh Karaitiana finished with 12 points. It was the final collegiate game for four Rainbow Wahine — Shawlina Segovia, Morgan Mason, Karaitiana and Kuehu.
The ‘Bows and Gaels both shot well in the first half, with UH going 11-for-24 (45.8%) and SMC shooting 11-for-26 (42.3%). But the difference was the Gaels made 12-of-17 free throws after being in the bonus for the last 10 minutes, while UH was just 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Foul trouble would be a problem that would come back to hurt UH in overtime.
In the OT, things were looking good for Hawaii early. After SMC’s Lauren Nicholson made one of two free throws, Toeaina drove for a layup to give UH a 77-76 lead — its first lead of the game — coming with 3:44 left on the clock. Later, Harris raced past her defender for a layup to give the ‘Bows a three-point lead at 80-77 with 2:37 left. St. Mary’s then went on a 6-to-0 run to take a three point lead on a layup and four made free throws, but Harris, who had the hot hand in OT, nailed a trey to tie the game for the sixth time at 83-83. But that would be the closest UH would get to the win as the Gaels made 13 of their last 14 free throws to seal the win, 92-88. A total of five Rainbow Wahine fouled out in overtime — Karaitiana, Destiny King, Toeaina, Kuehu and Harris.
Kuehu had just two points in the first half, but erupted for 15 in the second half, shooting 5-for-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Kuehu filled the stat line with four rebounds, seven assists, and one blocked shot. She finishes her stellar, six year Rainbow Wahine career with 1,245 points, 645 rebounds, 125 blocked shots, 248 assists and 161 steals. Kuehu concludes her career ranked No. 8 all-time in points; No. 13 in scoring average (10.0 ppg); No. 8 in rebounds; No. 6 in blocked shots (125); and No. 9 in steals (161) just to mention just a few of her many accomplishments.
Hawaii finishes the season with a 23-9 overall record — its best mark since the 1997-98 team posted a 23-8 record under Vince Gooen route to a Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division title. UH’s season was highlighted by a 15-game win streak (the most since UH won 19-straight in 1997-98) and their first conference title since 1997-98 with a regular season record of 14-2. Under the 2015 Big West Coach of the Year, Laura Beeman, UH has advanced to the WNIT all three seasons during her tenure.