After watching her team play two top-five squads in 24 hours, Hawaii coach Laura Beeman wasn’t surprised by anything she saw.
All the Rainbow Wahine did was validate what Beeman already knew — that her team will compete against anybody.
Reserve guard Makenzie Robertson hit seven 3-pointers off the bench to lead four players in double figures with 23 points in No. 1 Baylor’s 77-42 win Sunday over Hawaii on the final day of the Jack In the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic.
UH finished 1-2 in the tournament, earning the key win against Tennessee-Martin on Friday.
No. 4 Stanford and Baylor combined to outscore the Rainbow Wahine by 62 points over the weekend, but Beeman was quick to point out the scoreboard wasn’t indicative of the progress UH made playing two of the best teams in the country.
"This has been a tough tournament," Beeman said. "The thing I am most proud about is I think these guys had maybe a slight second of "Oh wow, can we do this’ and then it vanished."
A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,408 saw reigning national player of the year Brittney Griner finish with 10 points in limited action as the Bears scored 17 of the first 22 points and had the game well in hand by halftime.
However, UH wasn’t intimidated by Baylor’s big, physical presence inside.
Despite trailing by 22 at the break, UH outrebounded the taller Bears 21-20, grabbing nine on the offensive glass.
Griner was held without an offensive rebound in 16 minutes.
"I wanted to see what I knew," Beeman said. "I knew they had the confidence to step up and play, but I needed to see it."
Still, Baylor’s talent was overwhelming, as UH shot just 25 percent (8-for-32) from the field in the half and trailed 39-17 at the break.
It would have been much worse if not for junior Kamilah Martin, who showed no fear down low against Baylor’s bigs.
She was 5-for-6 from the field at the break and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rainbow Wahine (1-3).
"Knowing that we can compete with the top teams in the nation helps you build confidence," Martin said.
Destiny King’s 3-point play gave UH its only lead at 3-2 just over a minute into the game before Baylor went to work. Jordan Madden knocked down two 3-pointers during a 15-4 run and Robertson hit the first of her seven treys to ignite a 15-0 run.
Griner played the first three minutes of the second half before calling it a day.
Robertson took care of things from there, finishing 7-for-8 from long distance. Destiny Williams had 11 points and Madden also had 10 for Baylor, which played without All-America guard Odyssey Sims for the second consecutive game.
Stanford 93, Tennessee-Martin 67
Tournament MVP Chiney Ogwumike had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cardinal (5-0) claim the tournament title with a win over the Skyhawks (1-4).
Joslyn Tinkle added 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting.