Box Score

HONOLULU--Junior Jade Abele scored a career-high 27 points and Hawaii used a strong start to defeat Syracuse, 72-63, on the second day of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic Saturday afternoon. UH stopped a three-game slide and improved to 1-3.

Hawaii next plays No. 18 Arizona in the consolation championship Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Syracuse will play Navy in the 7th place game at 11 a.m.

No. 2 Texas defeated Virginia 74-54 and advanced to Sunday's 5:30 p.m. championship game where they meet Montana, a 70-49 winner over Hartford. Hartford and Virginia play the third-place game at 3:20 p.m.

Syracuse scored the first basket of the game, but from then on it was all Rainbow Wahine. UH took a double-digit lead just five minutes into the game and led by as many as 14 points twice in the first half.

Down by double digits in the second half, Syracuse employed a full-court press, but the Orangewomen would get no closer than six points. Abele helped squelch any comeback hopes, by scoring 17 of her 27 in the second half. April Atuaia added 13 for the Rainbow Wahine.

Syracuse, which relies heavily on the long ball, hit just 8-of-27 on 3-pointers. Half of the team's 3-pointers came from Julie McBride who led Syracuse with 24 points, but it was not enough as the Orangewomen who dropped their second straight.

UH led by eight, 36-28, at the break and got a boost from freshman reserve Dalia Solia, who after not playing versus Hartford in the first round, came out aggressive and scored all 10 of her points in the first frame. Fellow freshman Pam Tambini, who started her fourth consecutive game, pitched with a game-high 11 rebounds, helping UH to a 45-30 advantage on the boards.

Saturday's Results
Hawaii 72, Syracuse 63
Arizona 67, Navy 61
Montana 70, Hartford 49
Texas 74, Virginia 54

Sunday's Schedule
Navy vs. Syracuse, 11 a.m.
Hawaii vs. Arizona, 1:10 p.m.
Virginia vs. Hartford, 3:20 p.m.
Montana vs. Texas, 5:30 p.m.