Amy Atwell sets Hawaii career record for 3-pointers in win over UC Riverside

Another homestand, another milestone for Amy Atwell.

Two weeks after passing the 1,000-point mark in her University of Hawaii basketball career, the Rainbow Wahine forward added another accolade by breaking the program’s all-time record for 3-pointers made in a 76-57 win over UC Riverside on Saturday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Atwell’s record-setting night came amid a 21-point performance on 8-for-9 shooting from the field. She went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line and led UH with eight rebounds.

“Special night for Amy,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “She’s the example you want as a coach in your locker room both on and off the court. She’s an amazing young lady. For her to get this record at home in front of a really good crowd that makes it more special for her and makes it more special for us.”

Atwell entered the game two 3-pointers shy of the previous UH career record of 167 held by Megan Tinnin since 2011. She hit her first of the night early in the second quarter and tied the record at the 9:39 mark of the fourth quarter. Atwell then made the mark her own a minute later when she stepped back behind the arc on the left wing to drop in No. 168.

“I didn’t want to force it too much, but I did know I was one away and I was feeling hot and I was shooting the ball well, so I thought why not,” Atwell said of the record-breaking sequence. “On the last one, I actually made eye contact with Meilani (McBee) on her drive and I knew she was going to get me the ball. I was just, ‘I gotta get out behind this line.’ I was just lucky enough to have enough time to step back and get into it.”

Atwell went to the bench soon after with the Rainbow Wahine (10-8, 6-2 Big West) well on their way to their third straight win overall and sixth straight at home.

“It was a great team win tonight. one through 15,” Atwell said. “Both sides of the court I feel like it’s one of our better games this season. Still got a lot of stuff to work on, but it felt pretty good having that kind of complete game together and then the cherry on top.”

The Wahine remained in third place in the conference race and kept pace with leaders Long Beach State and UC Irvine, with both at 8-2.

Atwell’s shooting performance came as part of one of UH’s most complete performances of the season as she led four Rainbow Wahine players in double-figure scoring.

UH guard Daejah Phillips finished with 12 points off the bench and guard Olivia Davies and forward Nnenna Orji added 11 each. Davies also went 3-for-4 from 3-point range as UH went 11-for-20 behind the arc overall.

“We definitely shot the ball very, very well,” Beeman said. “That happens when you hunt for great shots and I thought we did a much better job of hunting shots tonight.”

Atwell went 5-for-5 from the field in the first half and hit her lone 3-point attempt of the half on a pull-up from the top of the key to give UH a 25-11 lead at the 7:44 mark of the second quarter.

The Wahine hit eight of their first 10 shots of the period, with Davies and Kelsie Imai connecting on corner 3-pointers. Seven UH players had at least three points in the half, with Davies adding eight going into the break.

The hot start came two nights after the Wahine outscored UC Davis 30-10 over the final 15 minutes of a 57-50 comeback win on Thurs day.

“The last few games we’ve been struggling starting-wise and find ourselves down … and battling back the whole game,” Atwell said. “So it felt good to get the first punch in and keep it rolling from there.”

UC Riverside (6-10, 3-6) struggled to keep pace in a 30% shooting performance in the first half and UH outscored the Highlanders 22-9 in the second quarter. The Wahine led by as many as 24 in the third quarter and ended the night shooting 49% from the field to UC Riverside’s 38%.

UC Riverside guard Jordan Webster, the sister of former UH men’s player Justin Webster, led the Highlanders with 15 points.

The Rainbow Wahine go on the road this week and play at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday and Long Beach State on Saturday.