That 3-1 Western Athletic Conference start is just a speck in the rearview mirror.
Utah State sped past the Hawaii women’s basketball team with 50 percent shooting on 3-pointers and coasted to a 69-55 defeat of UH on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
A crowd of 902 saw UH (8-14, 3-4 WAC) go into the midpoint of the conference season on a three-game skid.
"There’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. There’s no time to dwell on the fact that we needed to play better these last two home games," UH coach Dana Takahara-Dias said. "We still have an opportunity on Saturday (vs. San Jose State) before we go out on the road to make sure we build momentum again. Because the WAC season is by no means done or over."
Moral support from about 40 former players in house for the annual alumnae game wasn’t nearly enough for the Rainbow Wahine, who trailed by double figures the entire second half.
Try as they might, the Wahine could not get within single digits. Second-place USU (15-6, 6-1) converted nine of 18 3-point attempts, including four of five after halftime. The Aggies dialed one up every time UH threatened to crack into single digits.
"It was tough, but we’re Hawaii. We play for the name on the front of our jersey, and we’re going to keep fighting all the way to the end," said forward Breanna Arbuckle, who led UH with 19 points and seven rebounds. "(In the next week) we’ll just focus on us, because they (SJSU) put their pants on just like we do."
Guard Devyn Christensen opened the game hitting five of six shots for the Aggies’ first 15 points. She finished with a season-high 25 on 9-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-7 from long range. Three other Aggies scored in double figures.
Kamilah Jackson, UH’s top scorer, was held to two points on 1-for-8 shooting, though she did grab a game-high 14 rebounds.
