Box Score Box Score

RENO, Nev.—The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team (8-11, 3-1 WAC) held off Nevada (5-14, 1-3 WAC) for their third-straight win, 72-63 on Thursday night at the Lawlor Events Center. Sophomore Vicky Tagalicod had a career-high 20 points while fellow sophomore Kamilah Jackson notched her 11th double-double of the season with 17 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, and a career-high seven assists.
 
Tagalicod went 7-of-9 from the floor—including a pair of 3-pointers—and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line to become just the third different UH player to hit the 20-point mark this season. She also added three rebounds in 27 minutes on the court. Tagalicod, who started the season in December after transferring from USC in December 2010, has now scored in double figures in seven-out-of-10 games that she has appeared in.
 
Jackson's overall play was key to Hawai`i's win. Not only did she manage to produce her third-straight double-double in four WAC games played, but she was able to target her open teammates who were then able to score the points. Jackson dished out assists to four different teammates—including two to Tagalicod and three to center Rebecca Dew, accounting for all six of Dew's points in the game. Jackson was also able to seal the win, sinking 3-of-4 free-throws with less than 20 seconds left in the game. For the game, Jackson was 5-of-10 in field goals and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. She corralled three offensive and eight defensive rebounds with one block.
 
It was a true team effort for the Rainbow Wahine, with all 10 contributing to the victory. Hawai`i shot an amazing 77.3% from the floor (17-of-22) in the second half and finished the game shooting 55.1% from the floor (27-of-49). UH also fared well at the free-throw line, hitting 14-of-19—including 8-of-10 within the last two minutes of the game.
 
In the first half, the Wolf Pack jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to start the game, but the 'Bows didn't panic but instead kept battling. Eventually UH caught Nevada and knotted the game at 15-15 with 8:07 left in the first half on Tagalicod's second-straight 3-pointer. The 'Bows went into the half with a slight 27-24 lead. In the second half, Nevada fought back to take the early lead back going up as much as four points (37-33) with 16:15 left in the game. But UH then went on an 8-2 run to re-take the lead. The game was tied twice more as the two teams traded layups, but UH's Alissa Campanero drained a 3-pointer with 12:07 left to give the 'Bows a 46-43 lead, and Hawai`i never looked back.
 
The win over the Wolf Pack snapped an eight-game losing streak to Nevada. The last time UH defeated Nevada was on Feb. 3, 2007 in Honolulu, 74-72. The last time UH managed a win in Reno was on Jan. 5, 2006. The victory raised UH's record to 3-1 in the WAC—which is the best conference start since the 2001-02 season.
 
The Rainbow Wahine now travel to California to face the WAC undefeated leader, Fresno State on Saturday, Jan. 28.