HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team came out of the locker room with its foot on the gas pedal, cruising to an 80-57 win over UC Riverside Thursday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
“Tonight was all about tempo,” head coach Laura Beeman said in a press release. “We’ve been evaluating over these last few weeks, and maybe I should have let them play at this pace earlier, the decision is on me, but tonight they showed what they could do with a fast tempo.”
The Rainbow Wahine (7-9, 1-2) picked up their first Big West Conference win of the season after dropping back-to-back games at CSUN, and UC Davis, as a result, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Highlanders (5-11, 1-1) knocked off defending champion UC Davis a week ago, but have lost three in a row to UH dating back to last season.
UH turned in its best offensive performance of the season in terms of the first quarter, outscoring UCR 23-7 after the first 10 minutes. The Highlanders held a 5-2 lead in the opening 90 seconds, but the green and white quickly answered with a 21-2 run over the next eight-plus minutes of action.
The lead for UH quickly built to as much 25 in the second quarter at 36-11. As the game progressed, the offensive onslaught didn’t waiver from the ‘Bows’ attack, scoring 80 points or more for only the second time this season.
For the second consecutive game, senior guard Julissa Tago led the team in scoring with 21 points, and her third game this season of over 20 points. She hit 8-of-16 from the floor and pulled down four rebounds in the process.
Freshman point guard Nae Nae Calhoun flirted with her first-career double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, while totaling six assists to only two turnovers.
“Tonight was fun,” said Calhoun. “I loved playing at such a fast pace. I have shooters to my left and my right; I just have to find them. Tonight was a blast.”
Another target for Calhoun has junior wing player Jadynn Alexander. She accounted for 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
As a team, UH had its best-combined shooting performance hitting 48 percent from the floor and 42 percent from three-point territory, tying a season-high with 11 made three-point buckets. The ‘Bows committed just seven turnovers, including only one in the first 20 minutes of play.
Attention now turns to Saturday with Cal State Fullerton visiting the island Oahu. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 8 p.m.
