Box Score
HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine basketball team picked up an impressive win with a 57-54 victory over Texas Tech in the first round of the 28th Annual Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine (2-1) led for nearly the entire game, but had to hold off a Lady Raider (3-1) rally in the second half to advance to the championship bracket.
Janevia Taylor led UH with 17 points, including six straight points for the Rainbow Wahine during a critical juncture in the second-half. Pam Tambini notched her third career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Saundra Cariaga poured in a career-high 12 points in her first-ever start. Jordan Murphree led four Lady Raiders in double figures with 13 points.
A week after falling to No. 3 Oklahoma, UH played a Big 12 team for the second straight game, and this time came away with a victory. The win was UH's first against Texas Tech in four all-time meetings, dating back to 1985. The teams last met in the 2002 Paradise Classic when the No. 9 Lady Raiders gave the Rainbow Wahine one of its worst home losses in the Stan Sheriff Center, 67-40.
The Rainbow Wahine, who built a 14-point lead in the second half, took its first lead five minutes into the game and never trailed again, although a surge by the Lady Raiders would take the game down to the wire. Sparked by a stellar defensive effort, the Rainbow Wahine led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 31-23 advantage at intermission. Texas Tech shot just 21 percent in the first half, missing 22 of its first 27 shots from the field.
UH stormed out after the break as Cariaga's second 3-pointer of the evening pushed its lead to 42-28 with less than 15 minutes remaining. Texas Tech then went on a 13-0 run, capped by Lavonda Henderson's 3-point play to cut the deficit to 42-41 with 10 minutes left. Taylor, however, single-handedly took over for the Rainbow Wahine, scoring the next six points to give UH some breathing room at 48-41.
The Lady Raiders cut the UH lead to one point on two other occasions and actually had a chance to take the lead with less than a minute remaining. However, Chelsey Dabbs and Alesha Robertson both missed their attempts and the Rainbow Wahine, who converted on just 12-of-21 free throws in the second half, would score its final four points from the free throw line to seal the win and hand the Lady Raiders their first loss of the season.
The Rainbow Wahine advance to the tournament semifinals where they will face Arkansas. Tipoff is set for 1:20 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Friday's Results
No. 2 North Carolina 99, Sacramento State 38
Gonzaga 62, No. 21 UCLA 57
Arkansas 84, Denver 58
Hawai`i 57, Texas Tech 54
Saturday's Schedule
Sacramento State vs. UCLA, 9:00 a.m.
Denver vs. Texas Tech, 11:10 a.m.
Arkansas vs. Hawaii, 1:20 p.m.
North Carolina vs. Gonzaga, 3:30 p.m.
-UH-