Honolulu—The University of Hawaii women's basketball team dropped its matchup to visiting Florida Gulf Coast, 73-67 on Saturday afternoon at the Stan Sheriff Center on day two of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
 
"We had a bad start in the first quarter, and it cost us," said head coach Laura Beeman. "I loved our fight and our effort in the third and fourth quarters, but we put ourselves in a bad situation early on. But, the good thing is we see our weaknesses early, which means we can fix them now, rather than be surprised come March."
 
The Rainbow Wahine (1-6) continue their slow start of the season, dropping six of their first seven games of the 2018-19 schedule. The Eagles (3-2) bounced back after a loss to Stanford on the first day of the Showdown, as they currently rank at No. 12 in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. FGCU will wrap up its stay in O'ahu on Sunday with American at noon.
 
FGCU used two high-scoring drives in each half to hold off the attacking 'Bows. Leading by just two at 9-7 with 5:34 on the clock in the first quarter, the Eagles put together a 17-5 run taking up nearly seven minutes of action. The 'Bows found an offensive answer in sophomore guard Jadynn Alexander as she came off the bench, scoring eight points in the half bringing UH within 12 at, 38-26.
 
The third quarter featured another run by FGCU, this time at 13-3, putting UH in a 51-33 hole with 3:36 on the clock in the third frame.
 
UH pecked away at the Eagles' lead in the fourth, showcasing their ability to take control of a game with its defense. Trailing 61-46 with 7:40 to play, UH put together a final 13-6 run pulling the game within four at one point, but eventually fell by six.
 
Four 'Bows ended the game in double digits as junior guard Julissa Tago led the team with 13 points in 22 minutes of action off the bench.  Junior forward Makenna Woodfolk started slow but produced in the fourth quarter finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
 
Junior guard Courtney Middap joined her other classmates with the offensive production notching 10 points and three assists. Alexander finished her night with a career-high 10 points, along with a career-high in minutes at 26.
 
UH will host No. 8 Stanford tomorrow for the final game of the Showdown at 2:30 p.m. HT. Afterward, the 'Bows will regroup with a 10-day layoff between games as they'll welcome Idaho to the island on Dec. 5.