Box Score

HONOLULU - Hawai`i rode the hot hand of Dalia Solia to a 72-67 win over Boise State Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. Solia scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half as the Rainbow Wahine (14-8, 5-6 WAC) pulled away from the Broncos (12-11, 4-7 WAC) and got a leg up in the Western Athletic Conference race.

Solia hit four 3-pointers in the second half to help UH win for just the second time in its last six home games. Entering the game in a five-way tie for fourth in the WAC, the Rainbow Wahine moved a step up on New Mexico State, Boise State and Idaho, while moving just a half game behind third-place San Jose State. UH also avenged last month's loss in Boise, its first against the Broncos in nine regular-season WAC meetings and remained undefeated against Boise State in Honolulu (5-0).

The Rainbow Wahine would need every bucket it could get to survive a 3-point onslaught by Boise State' Nadia Begay, who nailed five treys of her own en route to a career-high 28 points. No other Bronco finished with more than eight points as Boise State played the game without leading scorer Jessica Thompson, who was left home due to illness.

Solia led four Rainbow Wahine in double-digits. Pam Tambini, who missed the last meeting at Boise, finished with 14 points, while Amy Sanders recorded her sixth career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Janevia Taylor chipped in 11 points.

The game was tight throughout but UH began to pull away midway through the second half. Hawai`i trailed by as many as six points, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Solia highlighted a 13-3 run that put UH up by four with 13 minutes remaining. The Rainbow Wahine would not trail again, although the Broncos would tie the score on two more occasions, including at the five-minute mark when a Begay 3-pointer made it 58-58. UH, however, would score 11 of the next 14 points, including another 3-pointer by Solia to pull away.

After committing 26 turnovers in its last outing versus Fresno State, UH took much better care of the ball with a season-low 10 turnovers. UH also overcame a sluggish start with an opportunistic defense. The Rainbow Wahine offset some poor shooting, by generating 10 first-half steals that spurred a 14-2 run and helped UH take a 32-30 lead at the break.

UH next makes its first visit to Logan, Utah for a meeting with Utah State on Saturday, February 18. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MST.

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