Box Score

BOISE, Idaho - It certainly wasn't pretty, but Hawai`i eventually gritted its way to a 51-41 road win over Boise State Thursday night at the Taco Bell Arena. Jade Abele led Hawaii with 13 points and in the process surpassed 1000 career points, becoming the 14th player in school history to accomplish the feat.

Abele scored all but two of her points in the second half and her timely 3-point shooting proved instrumental in fending off a Boise State rally. The win improved UH to 10-10 overall and 6-7 in the WAC, while also keeping them undefeated in four all-time trips to Boise. The Broncos, meanwhile, dropped to 8-15 overall and 3-11 in the WAC.

Hawai'i overcame a shaky start to both halves. Both teams combined for nearly as many turnovers (12) as points (13) through the first eight minutes of the game. UH went scoreless for a six-minute stretch and 12 minutes into the game UH had a grand total of eight points. But suddenly the Rainbow Wahine exploded, as a driving Abele layup sparked a 20-2 run to end the half. UH held Boise State to just two points in the final 8:18 of the first frame and took a comfortable 28-13 lead into the locker room.

UH never trailed again but things got dicey in the second half, when a slumbering Rainbow Wahine went scoreless for the first seven minutes. Blaine Cassidy rallied the Broncos by scoring 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half. Boise State cut the deficit to just two points on two occasions and was down only 37-32 with nine minutes left. Abele, however, answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Rainbow Wahine lead back to double-digits.

Abele added eight points and four assists in the win. With 1007 career points, the native of Gold Coast, Australia surpassed Val Agee (1005) for 13th place all-time on the UH scoring list and now trails Brenda McCunn (1015) for 12th all-time.

Janevia Taylor added 10 points for Hawaii, while Alofa Toiaivao and Amy Sanders each chipped in eight. The Rainbow Wahine defense stepped up, forcing 18 Bronco turnovers and holding them to just 29 percent shooting, including 17 percent (4-of-24) in the first half.

The Rainbow Wahine next travel to El Paso to face UTEP on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. MST.

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