SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.— In its most convincing victory of the season, the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team walked out of the Mott Athletic Center with a 71-54 win over Cal Poly on Thursday night.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (6-11, 2-2) finished just seven points shy of their season-high but did finish with their largest margin of victory on the year. The Mustangs (4-13, 1-3) have dropped three in a row, putting them at the bottom of the Big West Conference standings, with the 'Bows remaining in the middle of the pack.
 
"We needed this win tonight, and it feels good to pick up one on the road," said head coach Laura Beeman. "Cal Poly is a big physical team, and they challenged us, but we ran our offense the way it's supposed to run. We attacked gaps and found open areas. Tonight was such a big difference for us compared to last week."
 
The second frame paved the way to the 'Bows' victory as UH double up the home squad, finishing the quarter with a 24-12 advantage for a 38-27 lead at the half. Junior guard Courtney Middap led the scoring onslaught as she accounted for 13 points in the first 20 minutes of action, hitting 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point line.
 
The Mustangs worked to make the game interesting in the third quarter bringing the score to within six at 51-45 with 5:01 on the clock, but UH kept them at bay, finishing the quarter on a 7-0 run. The fourth frame was built off the run by UH as the Mustangs weren't able to pull within single-digits in the final 10 minutes.
 
Middap's strong first half set her up with a final stat line of 15 points for a team-high while shooting 6-of-11 from the floor. But fellow guard and team captain senior Tia Kanoa turned in another solid performance against a conference foe.  She flirted with a triple-double once again, finishing with 14 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds.
 
"Tia (Kanoa) is playing with so much confidence right now," said Beeman. "Early in her career she had to sit, and when she transferred here, she had to sit again. Then last season she had to deal with the turmoil of coaching changes, but now she's playing at a high level. She's getting the coaching she needs and is taking it well; then she's turning around and making everyone around her better.
 
Unlike their poor performance a few days ago against CSUN, the 'Bows matched up to what their season stats have shown from a shooting standpoint. UH went 24-for-54 from the floor for 44 percent, while hitting 10-of-25 from beyond the arc for 40 percent. UH capitalized on the 20 turnovers by Cal Poly, resulting in 23 points off turnovers.
 
UH now will pack up and head to UC Santa Barbara for a 2 p.m. HT tip off on Saturday. The Bows' will aim to make it two in a row against the Gauchos as UH captured the final game of the series last season 73-64 inside the Stan Sheriff Center. The last time UH won at the Thunderdome was back on Feb. 6, 2016.