Martin does it all in Wahine win

In a game full of big baskets and boards, Kamilah Martin’s most impressive play might have been an assist.

The Hawaii junior forward dished a sweet bounce pass in the paint to Ashleigh Karaitiana for a three-point play with 53.3 seconds left, helping the Rainbow Wahine win their third straight Big West Conference game, a 65-57 decision over Long Beach State on Sunday night.

Following the team’s annual alumnae game, Martin played like one of the program’s all-time greats before the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 642. She had a season-high 27 points on 11-for-18 shooting to go with 13 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, and needs only 34 more points to become the program’s 17th 1,000-point scorer.

"You definitely want to return the favor when they’re setting you up for wide-open layups and you’re missing them," Martin said of the pass, while downplaying her night. "It definitely feels good just to get the win and just to be able to set your teammate up."

Karaitiana, a redshirt freshman, added 11 points in a shortened, eight-man rotation.

UH earned its first three-game winning streak under first-year coach Laura Beeman, and matched the 3-1 start to league play of last year under Dana Takahara-Dias in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Wahine (7-8 overall) shot 47.1 percent to 31.4 percent for LBSU (9-7, 2-2) and moved into a tie for second place with Cal Poly in the Big West standings. UH plays at Pacific (12-3, 2-1) and UC Davis (5-9, 0-3) in the coming week.

Martin shook off some frustration from dropped post entry passes in the game’s first few minutes and set a rugged tone the rest of the night.

"I couldn’t catch … in the first half," Martin said with a laugh. "(My teammates) kept me focused and kept saying, ‘We’re going to pass it to you.’ So I just have to thank my teammates to have the trust in me to keep passing it to me."

She was 5-for-5 from the line as part of the team’s 17-for-22 (77.3 percent) effort there and scored all of her field goals in the paint.

When LBSU got its closest late in the game at 54-50 with 3:42 to play, Martin put her team back in control with a putback on a Shawna Kuehu miss.

"This is what she’s capable of on a nightly (basis)," Beeman said. "That’s just the kind of player she is and the leader she’s becoming for our team."

Martin even grabbed a towel while teammate Monica DeAngelis waited at the free-throw line late in the game to wipe down a damp spot on the court.

Besides Martin’s big night, two factors were key in the victory.

The Wahine committed 19 turnovers, but broke LBSU’s fullcourt pressure often enough to keep the 49ers honest downcourt. And they contested the 49ers’ 3-point looks consistently to help force a horrific 1-for-24 shooting night for the visitors from beyond the arc.

LBSU came in averaging more than six 3-point makes per game.

"It was us," Beeman said. "I think being on the road obviously affects some things, … but the challenge we gave the team tonight was, locate your shooters in transition and the halfcourt and on broken plays, and get your hand up."

LBSU stayed in the game by grabbing 23 offensive boards among its 35 total rebounds and going plus-four in turnovers forced, giving The Beach 19 more field-goal attempts.

UH used a 13-2 first-half run to take the lead for good at 25-19. The Wahine settled for a 27-23 advantage at the break.

Wahine great Nani Cockett, now a member of the OC Sports broadcast team, was the game’s honorary captain on behalf of the program’s former players who played in or spectated the alumnae game before tipoff.