Box Score

TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team opened the Arizona State Tournament with a 61-58 loss against Northern Arizona on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz.

 

The Rainbow Wahine will face UC Irvine in the consolation game on Sunday at approximately 5 p.m. (2 p.m. HT). No. 25 Arizona State and Northern Arizona will play in the championship game at 2:30 p.m., prior to UH's game.

 

The second half of the game continued just like the first half ended, with both teams going back-and-forth. The lead changed five times and there were three ties in the second half. Northern Arizona made the last run of the game, scoring the final five points to pull out the win.

 

Against the Lumberjacks, the Rainbow Wahine were led by Keisha Kanekoa, who scored a game-high 19 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. Dita Liepkalne added 10 points and 10 rebounds, her third double-double of the season.

 

The first half was a game of runs, with UH starting the game 8-0. Northern Arizona answered with an 11-2 run to take the lead, but the Rainbow Wahine bounced back with 11 unanswered points. Both teams played evenly throughout the rest of the half, with UH leading 30-29 at the break.

 

In the opening 20 minutes, UH was led by Catherine Cho, who had seven points, followed by Liepkalne and Kanekoa, who each had six points. The Rainbow Wahine shot 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range, but had 13 turnovers.

 

In the first game of the tournament, host Arizona State beat UC Irvine 75-23, advancing the Sun Devils to the championship game Sunday.