No. 18 DePaul runs away from Wahine

The growing pains for the Hawaii women’s basketball team continued over the weekend.

But although the final margin in Sunday’s 90-65 loss to DePaul wasn’t pretty, coach Dana Takahara-Dias saw indications that the Rainbow Wahine had indeed grown over the past three days.

UH kept the 18th-ranked Blue Demons within sight through 27 minutes before DePaul pulled away in the final game of the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Rainbow Wahine (1-3) trimmed a 14-point first-half deficit to eight with 13 minutes left in the game. But DePaul outscored UH 18-4 over the next 5:40 to put the game out of reach and send the Wahine to their third straight loss.

While UH made a run at the Blue Demons, "sustaining it, that’s something we need to really work on, and trying to be consistent with every possession," Takahara-Dias said. "Because great teams will do that to you, they’ll just wear you down.

"It’s encouraging for us to know we did well in spurts, but we’re still looking for that elusive 40-minute game."

DePaul guard Anna Martin made five of the Blue Demons’ 11 3-pointers, shooting 7-for-11 from the field on her way to a game-high 22 points. Megan Rogowski added 17 for DePaul.

UH sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson led the Wahine with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Breanna Arbuckle contributed 16 points and eight rebounds before a crowd of 433.

"Steady as a rock, very consistent," Takahara-Dias said of Jackson. "But we’re working on finding those to complement her play so it’ll open up the inside."

Coming off a dismal 10-for-39 shooting performance in Saturday’s 71-44 loss to San Diego State, the Wahine shot 41 percent on Sunday.

UH stayed with DePaul early until the Blue Demons broke away with a 13-1 run and took a 42-30 lead into halftime.

UH closed to 54-46 on Jackson’s driving layup at the 13:37 mark. But DePaul scored the next seven points and UH didn’t threaten the rest of the way.

The schedule won’t ease up on the Wahine this week with the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Showdown set to begin on Friday. UH hosts California, Virginia (which upset No. 3 Tennessee on Sunday) and Texas in the three-day tournament.

"We always want to play the best," Arbuckle said. "It makes us better."

Portland defeated San Diego State 59-58 in Sunday’s first game. But with three teams tied at 2-1, SDSU still won the tournament championship by having allowed the fewest total points over its three games.