HONOLULU— The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team came up short to Utah, 73-57 Saturday afternoon during the second day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine (2-4) had a strong showing against the Pac-12 opponent compared to their last battle in 2018, where UH fell 73-48. The Utes (4-1) bounced back after losing to Gonzaga on Friday, 89-71.
The first half was a battle between the two squads as neither could develop an offensive rhythm in the opening 20 minutes. The first 10 minutes was a stalemate at 12-12, but a 13-4 run by the Utes to start the second quarter gave them an advantage, being up by as much as 13 in the closing minutes of the half. Following a technical foul on the Utah bench, graduate forward
Amy Atwell hit back-to-back free throws, followed by a three to close out the half with UH trailing 34-26.
Utah answered in the second half, taking the eight-point advantage and building it to a double-digit lead, as much as 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Utes leaned on their production from beyond the arc, hitting 12 shots from long distance and capitalizing on 23 turnovers by the 'Bows. Utah scored 26 points off the turnovers, compared to UH scoring 12 points off 17 Utah miscues.
Freshman guard
Daejah Phillips led UH in the scoring column with 19 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the charity stripe. Atwell followed up with 12 points of her own, hitting two three-pointers in the process, surpassing former teammate
Julissa Tago for third all-time in made three-pointers at UH with 141.
The 'Bows will conclude the Rainbow Wahine Showdown on Sunday with Gonzaga. UH has the opportunity to play spoiler by creating either a tie or a three-way tie for the championship trophy. UH and Gonzaga will tip at 2:30 p.m. HT.
