Wahine get an ‘E’ for effort

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Despite its top three scorers fouling out, Hawaii rallied for a 84-79 win over UC-Irvine in the first game of the Bank of Hawaii Invitational last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Seldom-used guard Catherine Cho came off the bench to hit two clutch go-ahead free throws with 1 minute, 36 seconds left.

The Rainbow Wahine take on Iona in the championship game today at 7 p.m.

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A complete effort was just what Jim Bolla was looking for heading into the new year.

With Hawaii's top three scorers -- Tanya Smith, Saundra Cariaga and Iwona Zagrobelna -- fouled out against UC-Irvine by the last 2 minutes last night, it fell on the Rainbow Wahine reserves to close things out in the first game of the Bank of Hawaii Invitational.

Guard Catherine Cho hit two key free throws and Ebony Jones grabbed a big rebound and tacked on another point at the line to help secure a 84-79 win over the Anteaters. Hawaii evened its record at 6-6 on the year, while Irvine fell to 4-8.

Bolla wasn't emotional about losing the bulk of his offense to fouls, choosing instead to look at things in a positive light.

"Well, I've had that happen before," the coach said.

"We didn't panic, and even though we had three starters out the team was confident, and the starters that were out were talking to the people on the floor, giving them encouragement. We did what we had to at the end -- executed some offense real well, got a couple of key rebounds and played some solid defense when we needed to."

With usual starter Dita Liepkalne out injured for the second straight game, the Hawaii bench was taxed even more than usual. Zagrobelna, though, came up big in her absence. The 6-foot-4 center from Poland moved into the starting lineup and poured in career-high 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 12 in the first half. She might resolve to shoot more 3-pointers in the new year, as she hit nothing but net on both of her attempts from beyond the arc.

"I make my shots, finally," Zagrobelna said with a grin. "It's a European style, post players hit 3s."

Smith led the way with her eighth double-double of the season, tallying 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Cariaga had 15 points and 12 boards. Keisha Kanekoa ran a smooth offensive game with 15 points and six assists.

Irvine stayed in it by winning the turnover battle by eight and shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers for much of the game until a series of desperate heaves in the final minute. Kelly Cochran and Stephanie Duda led the way with a combined 37 points.

But the Anteaters were blocked 10 times and outrebounded 52-42 by the taller Rainbow Wahine.

"We let everyone know we need to play with our hearts and go all out," Smith said. "(The foulouts) were really frustrating ... but there's nothing you can do about it."