Free throws push Rainbow Wahine past Loyola Marymount
The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team surrendered a sizable lead then rallied late to open its road trip with an 85-76 win over Loyola Marymount on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The Rainbow Wahine (6-4) led by 12 at halftime, trailed by six with 5:14 left, then went on a 12-0 run to reclaim the lead and held off the Lions (2-8) from the free-throw line.
Five Rainbow Wahine players scored in double figures led by Morgan Mason’s 19 points. Mason went 11-for-14 from the foul line and the Wahine finished 30-for-36 as a team.
Ashleigh Karaitiana extended her double-digit scoring streak to 10 games by finishing with 12 points as did Destiny King and Dalayna Sampton. Shawlina Segovia added 11 points for UH which improved to 3-0 on the road.
The Wahine will remain in California and face Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday.
Taylor Anderson led LMU with 21 points and Deanna Johnson finished with 19 in the Lions’ fifth straight loss.
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Hawaii made seven of its first nine field goal attempts and shot 54.5 percent in the first half to take a 45-33 lead into halftime despite having three starters spend most of the half on the bench after picking up two fouls.
The Wahine opened up a 10-point lead less than five minutes into the game, but LMU rallied to catch UH at 20-20. UH regained command with a 13-1 run and led 39-25 when Briana Harris drained a 3-pointer and Karaitiana converted a steal into a layup.
UH shot 2-for-11 from the field to open the second half and LMU closed to 54-53 on Olivia Lucero’s 3-pointer with 14:09 left.The Lions then took their first lead of the game on Emily Ben-Jumbo’s layup with 11:22 left.
LMU stretched the lead out to six and UH answered, tying the game on two Karaitiana free throws with 3:06 left. The Wahine then reclaimed the lead with 1:49 left when King made two free throws.
Kuehu came up with a steal on LMU’s next possession and Mason drew a foul. She made both free throws to give UH a 74-70 lead and UH continued to pull away from the foul line, going the final 4:16 without a field goal.
