Box Score

MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine basketball team enjoyed its most comfortable win of the year with a 64-43 rout of Idaho Thursday night at the Cowan Spectrum. UH improved to 15-12 overall and 9-6 in the Western Athletic Conference with its eighth straight win.

UH led from wire-to-wire and were never threatened by the Vandals (5-21, 2-15 WAC), who dropped their sixth straight game and are relegated to the bottom of the conference standings. The Rainbow Wahine, who led by 16 at the half and by as many as 32 points in the second half, are now in sole possession of fourth place in the WAC with one game remaining.

Pam Tambini lead UH with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Tanya Smith wasn't far behind with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Amy Kotani scored 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. All but one of the 10 Rainbow Wahine players suited up got in the scoring column as the UH reserves played most of the final 10 minutes of the game. UH won with ease despite playing without starting center Brittany Grice.

Defense got the job done for the Rainbow Wahine. UH broke the game open when it held Idaho to just two points in the final 11:45 of the first half, extending a seven-point lead to 18 and taking a 34-16 advantage into the locker room. The Vandals shot just 32 percent for the game, including 1-of-16 from three-point range, and their 43 points was the lowest for a Hawai`i opponent this year.

Katie Madison, the conference's leading scorer at 19 points per game, scored more than half her team's points, finishing with a game-high 26 points.

UH closes its regular-season schedule with a meeting versus the Boise State Broncos on Saturday, March 3. The Broncos will be playing for a share of the WAC title, while the Rainbow Wahine could possibly finish in a tie for third in the standings with a win. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. MST.

-UH-