Rainbow Wahine power past Northridge

For a good eight minutes, Hawaii looked as unstoppable as Judy Mosley.

UH scored the first 15 points of Sunday night’s game against Cal State Northridge, paid homage to the late Rainbow Wahine forward Mosley-McAfee at halftime, then finished off a 54-44 win over the Matadors at the Stan Sheriff Center for their first Big West Conference victory of the season.

At the half, a video tribute was given for Mosley-McAfee, honoring the player considered the most dominant in program history. UH’s leading scorer and rebounder died in her native California at age 45 in September after a three-year battle with cancer.

Before the game, two of her 10 siblings, Bennie and Terrence, were presented with an honorary captain’s game ball.

Mosley did a lot of winning in her UH career — her teams were 81-35 between 1986 and ’90 — so it was only fitting these Wahine (7-7, 1-1 BWC) scrapped for a ‘W’ on her night.

"I thought today was awesome, especially that we got a win," Wahine senior Shawna Kuehu said. "We talk about the past athletes that have pretty much built a foundation for this program. … It’s awesome to be part of a program that Judy Mosley has left for us, that pathway."

The opening run was especially big because it was the team’s first action since a bitter defeat to Cal Poly in its Big West opener on Wednesday. UH coughed up a four-point lead with 11 seconds remaining in that one and lost 78-74 in overtime.

"I wanted to see our bounce-back," UH coach Laura Beeman said.

"That was a loss that took the wind right out of us, and it could have been a back-breaking game that your whole season becomes. And for these young ladies to step it up … we’re never going to play pretty, but winners find a way to get it done. That’s what I wanted to see tonight."

Wing players Ashleigh Karaitiana and Kuehu led the way with 14 points apiece, helping the team overcome a quiet night from its top producer, Kamilah Jackson (eight points, six rebounds). Karaitiana and Kuehu combined for 16 boards as UH outrebounded CSUN 46-29.

UH held CSUN (5-11, 1-1) eight points below its previous season low in scoring. The Matadors went 0-for-10 to start the game as UH built a commanding lead.

"We wanted to come back and prove that Wednesday night was just a fluke," Kuehu said. "It wasn’t going to make or break us. It was just an off night. That’s what that first five minutes was. We had something to prove. We had a chip on our shoulder. That’s what made us play hard, I believe."

CSUN opened the second half with three straight 3s, getting to within 31-26.

"We knew it was coming," Beeman said. "It was just nice to see us continue to outscore them, kind of on a very slow pace, but we found a way."

Kuehu scored on a jumper coming out of a timeout to end the 9-0 run and start an 8-0 spurt of UH’s own.

CSUN’s Janae Sharpe converted a three-point play during a 7-0 rally to get the Matadors back within 39-33. Karaitiana ended that run with a basket inside.

A few minutes later, she hit her second 3 of the game to make it 51-40 with 2:34 left and set up a drama-free finish.

The Matadors were held to 25 percent shooting in the first half (31.6 percent for the game) and trailed 31-17 at the break.

UH continues play at UC Riverside (4-11, 0-2) on Saturday.

BIG WEST WOMEN

Sunday
Hawaii 54, Cal State Northridge 44

Thursday
UC Davis at UC Riverside
UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton
Cal Poly at Cal State Northridge
UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State

Saturday
Hawaii at UC Riverside
Cal State Northridge at UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly at Long Beach State
UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton

HAWAII 54, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 44

MATADORS (5-11, 1-1 BIG WEST)

RAINBOW WAHINE (7-7, 1-1 BIG WEST)

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Hawaii 31, CSUN 17.
Regulation—Hawaii 54, Cal Poly 44.
3-point goals — CSUN 5-18 (Lister 2-5, Sharpe 1-4, Friess 1-4, Guay 1-3, Alexander 0-1, White 0-1). Hawaii 3-10 (Karaitiana 2-4, Mason 1-3, King 0-1, Haydel 0-2). Steals — CSUN 4 (Alexander 2, White, Sharpe). Hawaii 5 (Kuehu 2, Haydel , Adolpho, King). Blocked shots — CSUN 1 (Alexander). Hawaii 2 (Kuehu, Karaitiana). Officials — Charisse Okamoto, Mason Souza, Kristen Bell. A — 1,750.