Karaitiana goes for 28, but UH falls in OT

Wherever the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine go, dramatic basketball tends to follow.

UH staged an improbable rally at Cal State Northridge on Saturday night, coming back from 16 points down in the second half — including seven points in the final minute — only to lose in overtime, 75-72 at the Matadome.

A career night by junior wing Ashleigh Karaitiana went for naught. She scored 28 points and hit six of eight 3-pointers, tying a program record for long-range makes, but her desperation look from the right wing in overtime was blocked before she could send the game to another extra period.

The Wahine (10-9, 4-3) squandered a five-point lead in OT and dropped consecutive contests to open a four-game road trip. They fell to 1-3 in overtime games this season, including 0-2 in the Big West. UH is now two behind leader Cal Poly (7-1) in the loss column at the league’s approximate halfway point.

UH coach Laura Beeman’s spirits were high afterward.

"The fight in these kids is amazing," she said in a postgame phone interview. "And I really thought we were going to end up winning that ballgame. The confidence they showed, the resilience they showed, the fight they showed. Am I bummed that we lost? Yes, I am. Absolutely. Does it dig a little bit of a hole for us (in the Big West)? It does. But the Big West is going to be back and forth for the rest of this year."

Northridge guards Janae Sharpe and Ashlee Guay combined for 53 points as the second-place Matadors (10-12, 6-2) defeated UH for the first time in their six-game series. Guay scored 20 first-half points and blocked Karaitiana on the final shot.

UH senior forward Kamilah Jackson, who was held to two points and a single rebound in a 74-72 loss at Long Beach State on Thursday, produced 23 points and 13 rebounds on Saturday.

The Wahine trailed by 12 at halftime and fell behind 48-32 mere minutes into the second half. The deficit was still 10 on a jumper by Sharpe with 5:58 to play, and seven when Sharpe hit a seemingly back-breaking 3 with 1:12 to play.

That’s when Karaitiana went super nova, hitting two 3-pointers and a layup as UH closed regulation on an 8-1 run. Her 3 with 11 seconds left tied it up at 65. Northridge seemed in disarray at that point, as it didn’t manage to get a shot off coming out of a timeout.

UH took its first lead of the game on a jumper by Karaitiana to open the extra period. Shawna Kuehu, limited to 20 bench minutes because of a lingering illness, fed Destiny King for a layup and a five-point lead with 2:26 left in OT.

But that’s when things turned, again.

"We had some silly mistakes in overtime," Beeman said. "Some missed free throws that were pretty big, a couple of fouls we should not have committed. I think tired legs kicked in."

Sharpe hit a jumper, Kuehu turned it over and Breeyon Alexander hit two free throws to make it a one-point game with 56 seconds to go.

CSUN fouled Wahine point guard Briana Harris with 49 seconds left and the freshman missed both.

The Matadors missed a shot but forced a key jump ball on the rebound and retained possession. Coming out of another timeout, Guay drove and was fouled. She made both with 28 seconds left for a 73-72 CSUN lead.

UH called timeout, but turned it over in the paint and took a foul with 11 seconds left. Cinnamon Lister made both for a three-point lead and Karaitiana’s look just before the buzzer was blocked by Guay.

BIG WEST WOMEN

Saturday
CS Northridge 75, Hawaii 72, OT
UC Davis 82, UC Santa Barbara 70
Cal Poly 84, UC Irvine 79
Long Beach State 83, CS Fullerton 64

Thursday
Hawaii at UC Santa Barbara, 5 p.m.
Long Beach State at UC Irvine
UC Riverside at CS Fullerton
CS Northridge at CS Fullerton

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 75, HAWAII 72, OT

RAINBOW WAHINE (10-9, 4-3 BIG WEST)

MATADORS (10-12, 6-2 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 — Cal State Northridge 39, Hawaii 27. 3-point goals — Hawaii 7-12 (Karaitiana 6-8, Haydel 1-1, Wimbley 0-1, Harris 0-2). Cal State Northridge 7-19 (Guay 4-5, Sharpe 3-8, Friess 0-1,?Cole 0-1, Lister 0-4). Steals — Hawaii 7 (Haydel 3, Kuehu 2, Jackson, Karaitiana). Cal State Northridge 6 (Sharpe, Lister, Friess, Alexander, Mahlknecht, Johnson). Blocked shots — Hawaii 1 (Jackson). Cal State Northridge 4 (Mahlknecht 2, Guay, Alexander). Technical foul — none. Officials — Cathi Cornell, Kaili Kimura, Rick Rodman. A — 321.