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Hawaii sophomore Sarah Toeaina set a career high with 14 points and the Rainbow Wahine basketball team opened the season with a 74-41 rout of Grand Canyon today in Phoenix, Ariz.
UH got 43 points from its bench, led by Toeaina and sophomore forward Megan Huff, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Wahine went 10 deep and each player recorded at least four points and 14 minutes of playing time. UH shot 41.5 percent from the field and hit five 3-pointers and held GCU to 24.5 percent shooting, including 2-for-13 from 3-point range. The Wahine also made their first 13 free throws and finished 15-for-17 from the line.
UH had 18 assists, led by Ashleigh Karaitiana’s five, against 12 turnovers and held a 47-33 rebounding advantage.
The Rainbow Wahine head to Flagstaff, Ariz., to continue their season-opening road trip and will face Northern Arizona on Sunday.
UH connected on its first four 3-pointers and Toeaina went 5-for-5 from the field to lead the Wahine to a 39-21 halftime lead at GCU Arena.
Briana Harris, Toeaina and Karaitiana all hit 3-pointers in the first quarter. Toeaina also scored on an inbounds play off an assist from Karaitiana and hit a driving jumper to cap a 12-0 UH run that gave the Wahine a 20-8 lead.
Toeaina surpassed her previous career best of 11 points set last season against UNC Greensboro with a putback that pushed the Wahine lead to 37-19 in the second quarter. UH went the final four minutes without scoring, but GCU didn’t muster a field goal in the last 5:52 of the half.
UH continued to pull away with an 8-0 run coming out of halftime and led 59-28 after the third quarter.
Courtney Hayes and Dana Jones led Grand Canyon with seven points each.
