HONOLULU, Hawaii—Hawai'i defeated CSU Bakersfield 74-60 in the first game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown Friday night.

A 13-4 Rainbow Wahine run that began at the end of the first quarter and ran into the start of the second launched UH into a 29-19 lead.  Poor shooting plagued the Roadrunners throughout the first half as CSUB went 0-for-9 from the field at one point. The Roadrunners would only make three field goals in the second quarter and trailed Hawai'i 32-24 at the break.

“We missed some shots in the first half that we probably could have capitalized on,” said CSUB head coach Greg McCall. “We can't afford to take a rushed shot and we need to do a better job of running our offense to get the shot we need to get.”

CSUB (1-3) scored four of the first five points of the third quarter to cut the lead to five in the first two minutes of the frame. That would be as close as the Roadrunners would get in the third as CSUB would only make one of its next eight field goal attempts. Hawai'i outscored the 'Runners 9-2 during the span, resulting in a 44-30 UH lead.  The Rainbow Wahine took a 50-39 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Roadrunners chipped away at the Hawai'i (4-1) lead, scoring the first seven points of the final stanza. At 50-46, UH's Ashleigh Karaitiana drew a foul and went to the free throw line. She made both. UH got a stop and turned into a Briana Harris layup for a 54-46 lead. Batabe Zempare's free throws created a two possession game at the 7:06 mark.

“We were able to get settled in and get back into the game,” McCall said. “We missed a couple of layups and that was a four-point swing and if we make those we probably tie it up.”

Zempare was called for her fourth foul on the next Rainbow Wahine possession. Megan Huff converted two free throws to again make it an eight-point game.  Huff scored again the next time down for UH. Hawai'i called timeout, leading 58-48 with just over six to play. CSUB was turned away again on the offensive end, resulting in Destiny King being fouled for the Rainbow Wahine. King made 1-of-2 free throw attempts.

CSUB again missed on the offensive side of the ball. Hawai'i turned into a basket and a 61-48 advantage.  Erika Williams ended the Roadrunner scoring drought with a free throw with 4:42 to go. The Rainbow Wahine would pull away late, taking the game by the final 14-point margin.

The 'Runners would shoot 32.3% (20-of-62) for the game. The Rainbow Wahine outrebounded the Roadrunners 46-31. CSUB was called for 29 fouls, compared to 21 for UH. Hawai'i made 27-of-40 free throw attempts, while the Roadrunners were 17-of-22 from the charity stripe.

“We need to find a way to be aggressive and smart at the same time,” McCall said. “They had 27 points from the free throw line after sending them there 40 times. We had two kids foul out of the game that should never happen if we are being smart and taking care of the ball.”

Willilams led all scorers with 20 points. Alexxus Gilbert had 11 for the 'Runners. Karaitiana paced the Rainbow Wahine with 19. Harris had 12 while Huff posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.

CSUB takes on No. 2 South Carolina Saturday in game two of the tournament. The Gamecocks defeated No. 16/18 Arizona State 60-58 in Friday's opening game.  Saturday's tip is set for 1:30 p.m. HST or 3:30 p.m. PST.

The Roadrunners return home Dec. 8 when CSUB hosts Pepperdine. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. The game can also be seen on the WAC Digital Network.

~www.GoRunners.com~