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Jackson powers Wahine to win

Brian McInnis
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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kamilah Jackson, shown here against BYU-Hawaii, recorded her first double-double last night.

That didn’t take long.

Freshman forward Kamilah Jackson posted her first double-double in her fourth Division I game and Hawaii completely dominated North Carolina Central inside in an 82-47 win last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 834 saw the Rainbow Wahine (3-1) advance to face Mississippi (4-1) in the semifinals of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown.

UH faces an Ole Miss team that outrebounded Gonzaga 48-29 and advanced on a game-winning layup with 4 seconds left to win it 53-52.

The 5-foot-11 Jackson posted career highs in points (19), rebounds (12) and blocks (two) in 21 minutes off the bench. She was a big reason why UH cleaned out NCCU 45-27 on the glass. The freshman received a well-deserved round of applause when she checked out with 2:46 left.

"You just gotta go hard to the offensive boards and it just came my way, so I just did the best I can to just grab them," Jackson said. "We’re expecting a tougher battle (vs. Ole Miss) because the coaches always tell us the teams are really good, so we just gotta come ready to play."

UH’s 35-point margin of victory was its largest since a 44-point win over Detroit in 2000. The Wahine also posted a season high in points and season best in points allowed.

When Jackson wasn’t doing work inside, senior point guard Keisha Kanekoa shredded the Eagles’ defense for 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

"Trying to open up a lot more things, instead of being passive," said Kanekoa, who added seven rebounds. "Look for my shots, and then we got ‘Milah them down there rebounding, if anything."

Everyone got in on the act around the basket. Starting forwards Allie Patterson and Breanna Arbuckle combined for 23 points, and even the 5-foot-6 Kanekoa crashed for tip-ins. UH coach Dana Takahara-Dias marveled at her team’s 50-16 advantage in points in the paint and 16-0 mark on second-chance points.

The Lady Eagles (1-2) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference were held to 32.7 percent shooting from the field, compared to 48.4 percent for UH. Numerous looks were created by some deft interior passing.

"Not only did we score in the paint, but I thought we passed generously with our high-low game," Takahara-Dias said. "But there’s a different team that we play tomorrow. We won’t get those kind of looks, but what a great production from the bigs tonight."

UH dominated inside, but the Tinnin Watch is ongoing at the perimeter. Senior co-captain Megan Tinnin is still short of tying the UH career 3-point record — she made one yesterday to pull within two of Nani Cockett’s 128.

But she did claim the career mark for 3-point attempts. With seven, Tinnin passed Janevia Taylor’s 388 by one.

Jackson had nine points and 10 boards by halftime, when UH led 39-17.

No. 14 North Carolina (5-0) and Illinois (3-2) advanced on the other side of the bracket yesterday with wins over Washington State (95-55) and Long Beach State (69-48), respectively.

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