Kailiawa, Bello Produce Off Bench in Hawai`i Win

HONOLULU – Laura Beeman picked up her first victory as head coach of the University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine basketball team, sweating out a furious comeback by Tennessee-Martin before surviving late for a 73-69 win on opening day of the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic.

After a back-and-forth start from both teams, Hawai`i swelled out to a lead as big as 15 points with 15:21 remaining in the game before UTM went on a 23-7 run, eventually taking the lead for the first time in the second half with Katie Schubert’s three-point basket with 7:52 remaining in the game. That gave the Skyhawks a 52-51 lead.

Hawai`i (1-1, 0-0 Big West) took the lead for good with 5:02 remaining when Kamilah Martin, cheered loudly by her newlywed husband Jameson, sank a pair of free throws to give the Wahine a 59-58 lead.

Martin finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 10-for-17 from the free throw line on the evening.

Two Hawai`i Island players saw important minutes for Beeman’s squad. Ka`u graduate Pua Kailiawa was one of the first off of the bench. The transfer from Umpqua Community College showed a smooth mid-range jump shot, a feature that local fans saw in Big Island Interscholastic Federation competition. She shot 6-of-9 from the field to score 12 points.

Waiakea High School graduate Kanisha Bello played only eight minutes, but made the most of the minutes with three treys and a perfect shooting night. The University of Idaho transfer shot 4-for-4 from the field to score 11 points.

Kanisha Bello

Hilo High graduate Vicky Tagalicod, a transfer from USC, failed to see action. She has not played in the team’s first two regular season games.

Hawai`i faces fourth-ranked Stanford Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. Stanford upset top-ranked Baylor on Friday afternoon to open the three-day classic.

Tennessee-Martin 23 46 – 69

Hawai`i 33 40 – 73