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Crain reigned … as well as rained in points.
UC Riverside senior guard Brittany Crain drained shots from all parts of the Stan Sheriff Center court, with her 31 points leading the Highlanders to a historic 77-74 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night.
It was the first time that UCR defeated the Rainbow Wahine in eight meetings and Crain, the reigning Big West player of the year, finished off the victory by hitting two free throws with nine seconds remaining in front of 1,264.
“She’s a really good player, has amazing movements off the ball,” said Hawaii senior guard Destiny King, who finished with a career-high 24 points. “It’s always a good game with her and their team.
“For us, at the end of the game, it was our turnovers. Those were crucial.”
Hawaii (9-8, 2-2 Big West) led for all but 6:14 of the game, including the crucial final 74 seconds. A 3-pointer by senior guard Marissa Wimbley put the Wahine ahead for what would be the last time, 71-69 with 2:21 to go.
UCR (11-7, 4-0) remained unbeaten in conference play, with Crain and sophomore guard Michelle Curry breaking through Hawaii’s defense for consecutive layups to take control at 73-71 with 74 seconds left. The Wahine had good looks by both freshman guard Olivia Crawford and senior forward Ashleigh Karaitiana, but the shots didn’t fall, the one-and-run-back-on-defense — the lack of offensive rebounds — leading to the downfall.
The Highlanders, using just six players, crashed the boards at both ends at the end. Several times Hawaii’s defense had UCR shooting with under five seconds on the shot clock only to have the Highlanders come up with the rebound and allow for a second or third shot.
It happened at the end of the third quarter when Rejane Verin rebounded Simone DeCoud’s missed layup with four seconds left and flashed it out to Crain to the right of the key. Crain drained the 3-pointer as time expired, putting the Highlanders on top 55-54.
It happened with 25 seconds left in the game when Verin again rebounded DeCoud’s missed layup. Hawaii was forced to foul, putting Verin on the line. She hit both for a 75-71 lead.
The Wahine answered quickly with a 3-pointer by junior guard Bri Harris to cut it to 75-74. Crain had the last word with her two free throws.
Four of the six Highlanders finished in double figures. In addition to Crain’s 31 — 10 points above her average — Curry had 12, and Annelise Ito and Verin both 11.
For Hawaii, Crawford had a career-high 13 points, with all four field goals coming from behind the arc. Harris finished with 11 points.
“I was happy with the energy for 40 minutes and I loved our confidence,” Wahine coach Laura Beeman said. “Crain is a heck of a player with a beautiful touch, is savvy and works hard.
“You can’t give a team like Riverside offensive rebounds. They converted off our mistakes. What was frustrating tonight was having Ashleigh (Karaitiana) in foul trouble and allowing Curry 12 points (7 above her average). If we hold her to even 7 points, we’re having a different conversation.”
Hawaii next heads out on the road for games at UC Irvine on Thursday and CSUN on Saturday.
BIG WEST WOMEN
| Conference |
Overall |
| |
W |
L |
GB |
Pct. |
W |
L |
| UC Riverside |
4 |
0 |
— |
1.000 |
11 |
7 |
| UC Davis |
3 |
0 |
1/2 |
1.000 |
10 |
6 |
| Santa Barbara |
3 |
1 |
1 |
.750 |
6 |
12 |
| Cal Poly |
2 |
1 |
1 1/2 |
.667 |
9 |
7 |
| Hawaii |
2 |
2 |
2 |
.500 |
9 |
8 |
| Long Beach St. |
2 |
2 |
2 |
.500 |
13 |
5 |
| CS Fullerton |
0 |
3 |
3 1/2 |
000 |
2 |
15 |
| CSUN |
0 |
3 |
3 1/2 |
.000 |
2 |
15 |
| UC Irvine |
0 |
4 |
4 |
.000 |
3 |
15 |
Saturday
UC Riverside 77, Hawaii 74
Long Beach State 71, UC Irvine 65
Cal Poly 51, Cal State Fullerton 46
UC Santa Barbara 65, CSUN 49
Wednesday
Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State
Thursday
CSUN at Cal Poly
UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara
Hawaii at UC Irvine, 5 p.m. HST
| HIGHLANDERS (11-7, 4-0 BWC) |
| |
MIN |
FG-A |
FT-A |
R |
A |
PF |
PTS |
| Crain |
40 |
10-17 |
8-9 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
31 |
| Ito |
40 |
3-10 |
5-5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
11 |
| Verin |
40 |
4-11 |
3-4 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
| Decoud |
35 |
4-9 |
0-0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
| Lefebvre |
22 |
1-2 |
2-2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| Curry |
23 |
6-12 |
0-0 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
| TEAM |
|
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
| TOTALS |
200 |
28-61 |
18-20 |
31 |
14 |
17 |
77 |
| RAINBOW WAHINE (9-8, 2-2 BWC) |
| |
MIN |
FG-A |
FT-A |
R |
A |
PF |
PTS |
| King |
35 |
9-17 |
6-6 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
24 |
| Crawford |
30 |
4-9 |
1-2 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
| Adolpho |
32 |
2-7 |
0-0 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| Morris |
15 |
2-3 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
| Karaitiana |
15 |
0-2 |
0-0 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
| Harris |
24 |
5-9 |
0-2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
| Huff |
20 |
3-7 |
2-2 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
| Wimbley |
13 |
2-4 |
0-0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| Toeaina |
14 |
2-4 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
| Lahni Salanoa |
2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
200 |
29-62 |
9-12 |
33 |
14 |
16 |
74 |
Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — Hawaii 36, UC Riverside 34
3-points goals — UC Riverside 3-9 (Crain 3-6, Decoud 0-1, Lefebvre 0-1, Curry 0-1). Hawaii 7-18 (Crawford 4-7, Wimbley 2-3, Harris 1-5, Karaitiana 0-1, King 0-1, Toeaina 0-1). Steals — UC Riverside 7 (Decoud 3, Verin 2, Crain, Curry). Hawaii 4 (Huff 2, Crawford, Morris). Blocked shots — UC Riverside 3 (Verin 2, Decoud). Hawaii 1 (Adolpho). Turnovers — UC Riverside 9 (Verin 3, Lefebvre 2, Ito, Crain, Curry, TEAM). Hawaii 14 (Crawford 3, King 2, Harris 2, Toeaina 2, Salanoa 2, Huff 2, Adolpho). Technical fouls — none. Officials —Skelly Wingard, Kimberly Hobbs, Tim Tamashiro. A—1,264.
77
