Rainbow Wahine close year with victory

Picking up a close win to finish 2016 was just part of the payoff for Hawaii on Thursday.

The Rainbow Wahine basketball team ended the nonconference schedule by snapping a two-game skid and a six-game losing streak against Division I competition by fending off Grand Canyon 51-47 in the first game of a UH basketball doubleheader at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Senior guard Briana Harris scored on a putback with 1:51 left to give UH the lead for good and the Wahine (4-8) held GCU (7-5) to 16 second-half points to build confidence and momentum heading into their Big West Conference opener next Thursday at preseason favorite Long Beach State.

“When you have some losses you need to know you can win again,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “You have the moment of, ‘What if we don’t win tonight again.’ … You have to shut that door.”

Harris and sophomore forward Lahni Salanoa tied for team-high honors with 11 points each and guard Olivia Crawford and forward Makenna Woodfolk both finished with nine.

GCU led 31-25 going into halftime, but the Wahine held the Antelopes to 2-for-12 shooting in the third quarter and took the lead with an 18-8 run.

UH made just two of 13 field goals in the fourth quarter, and GCU tied the game 45-45 on Aniya Baker’s jumper with 4:40 left. UH then held Grand Canyon scoreless until just before the final buzzer. By then Harris’ putback and four Sarah Toeaina free throws gave UH enough cushion to celebrate a win.

“It started on the defensive end,” Harris said. “Once our defense is intact, our offense opens up. It made it easier when we started getting stops and they were one shot (and) done then our offense was just flowing.”

With 6-foot-2 forward Marina Laramie, GCU’s leading scorer at 20.6 points per game, out for the second straight game, the ’Lopes went with a guard-heavy lineup and pressured UH into eight turnovers in the first quarter. The Wahine committed just eight over the next 30 minutes and matched GCU with 11 points off of turnovers.

“They settled down. You kind of figured they would,” GCU coach Trent May said. “They just made the right play, regained their composure and found the open spots.”

Gajewski led GCU with 19 points and hit all three of the ’Lopes’ 3-pointers.

GCU led 33-27 in the third quarter when Harris scored on a drive while drawing a foul to trigger a 13-0 UH run. Woodfolk helped fuel the surge with a jumper and a steal that led to another Harris three-point play.

GCU scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and the teams traded jumpers to knot the score at 45 with 4:40 left.

They remained tied until Harris snagged the rebound off of Toeaina’s 3-point attempt and scored to give UH the lead.

GCU had a chance to catch the Wahine again when Brie Mobley came up with a steal in the final minute, but missed the breakaway layup. Crawford dove for the loose ball and called timeout to give UH possession with 19 seconds left. After Toeaina hit two free throws, Crawford drew an offensive foul against Mobley and two more foul shots put the game away.

UH went 16-for-21 from the foul line after shooting 59 percent in losses at Nevada and Boise State last week.

“We did a lot of pressure free throws (in practice). Miss free throws, we’re going to run and we did a lot of running this week,” Beeman said. “But it paid off and we needed those to win this ballgame.”

WAHINE

HAWAII 51, GRAND CANYON 47

ANTELOPES (7-5)

RAINBOW WAHINE (4-8)

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

3-point goals — Grand Canyon 3-18 (Gajewski 3-8, Massaquoi 0-1, Baker 0-2, Marcos-Canedo 0-2, Rarrick 0-5). Hawaii 5-19 (Crawford 2-6, Harris 1-2, La. Salanoa 1-3, Le. Salanoa 1-5, Toeaina 0-1, Tago 0-2). Steals — Grand Canyon 6 (Baker 3, Gajewski, Massaquoi, Mobley). Hawaii 6 (Harris 2, Woodfolk 2, Crawford, Tago). Blocked shots — Grand Canyon none. Hawaii 1 (Le. Salanoa). Turnovers — Grand Canyon 12 (Marcos-Canedo 3, Mobley 3, Clark 2, Massaquoi 2, Gajewski, Rarrick). Hawaii 16 (Toeaina 3, Crawford 3, Team 3, Koloi 2, Le. Salanoa 2, Darden, Harris, Tago). Technical fouls — None. Officials — Andy Wolf, Brandon Self, Mason Souza. A–NA.