LAS VEGAS, NEV.— The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team came up short on the road at UNLV with a 70-63 loss Tuesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (3-6) put an end to their non-conference schedule and fell to 0-3 in road matchups over their first nine games. The Runnin Rebels (8-3) have now won four of their last five to end their non-conference schedule.
 
Graduate forward Amy Atwell led all scorers with 28 points as she flirted with program history from long distance. From 1992 to 2017, the most three's hit in one game by a UH player stood at six. Julissa Tago broke the record and set the mark against UC Irvine in 2018 with eight. Atwell wracked up seven-made three points against UNLV, finishing one shy of her former teammate.
 
The two teams battled back and forth with seven lead changes and seven ties, as each took marginal leads through the first three quarters. UH led 36-30 in the third frame at 7:42 on the clock, giving them their largest lead of the game. UNLV answered after Atwell drew her third foul and headed to the bench. The Runnin Rebels followed up with an 18-4 run to the end quarter for a 48-40 advantage going into the final 10 minutes.
 
The 'Bows pulled with four after a made three-pointer by freshman guard Kelsie Imai, with 3:31 on the clock at 54-50, but could not pull any closer in the final minutes of action for the eventual final.
 
Atwell was the only UH player to register double-digit points; marking the second time this season, she has dropped 20 or more points in back-to-back games. After starting the year with an eight-point performance against San Diego, and seven points against USC, she has rattled off seven consecutive games of 10 or more points.
 
While the 'Bows relyed on the hot-handed Atwell, UNLV worked the paint scoring 36 points down low, to just 12 by UH. Turnovers played a role as well, with UH committing 17 miscues. UNLV shot better from the floor at 44% compared to the 'Bows' 33%, but only hit 1-of-16 from long range due to the UH pressure at the top of the key.
 
Next up, UH will begin Big West Conference action with a visit to UC Riverside on Thursday, Dec. 30th.