MAKAWAO, Maui — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team poured in a season-high 13 3-pointers and hung on late in a 67-58 win over Liberty to open the Maui Classic on Friday on the campus Seabury Hall in Makawao.
Rainbow Wahine senior
Imani Perez tied her career high with four 3-pointers, the last giving UH (6-5) a 19-point lead with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter. The 'Bows cooled off while the Flames (6-4) heated up to go on a 17-3 run and closed to within five with 29 seconds left. But the 'Bows went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to secure the win to cap the opening day of the tournament.
Perez led four UH players in double figures with a game-high 14 points also led the 'Bows defensively with three blocked shots, raising her career total to 97.
Keiara Curtis connected on two 3-pointers and went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points and
Saniyah Neverson and
Bailey Flavell added 10 points each.
Jovi Lefotu added nine points and three assists.
The 'Bows also limited their turnovers in committing 12 for the game while distributing 16 assists and weathered Liberty's 26-point outburst in the fourth quarter to emerge with the victory in the first meeting between the programs.
Lydie Mwamba hit three 3-pointers for Liberty — which entered the week ranked 10
th in the collegeinsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top25 — and shared team-high honors with Emma Leon with 13 points.
UH went 6-for-10 from the field in the first quarter to take a 16-15 lead then connected on four 3-pointers in a 17-3 run in the second quarter and led 33-22 at halftime.
Neverson hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the third period, but the 'Bows missed their next six shots and Liberty battled back with a 7-0 run.
Jade Peacock's second 3-pointer of game ended the drought and sparked an 8-0 run. Curtis knocked down two more from long range and UH pushed the lead to 52-32 heading into the fourth.
UH opened up a 21-point cushion early in the fourth quarter on Perez' third triple and she drained another at the 6:17 mark. That would be UH's last field goal of the night as the 'Bows missed their final seven shots from the field while Liberty went 6-for-7 with three 3-pointers in a 17-3 run. Curtis broke UH's scoring drought with three free throws in a span nine seconds to extend the lead back to 10 with 44 seconds remaining and the 'Bows finished off the win.
The Rainbow Wahine close the weekend by taking on Montana State on Saturday at Seabury Hall. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Montana State fell to tournament host Oregon State 53-51 in Friday's first game.
#HawaiiWBB
