Hawaii closed the half that mattered most.

The Rainbow Wahine finished the second period with a flourish for a 62-52 win over Idaho last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A crowd of 727 saw the Wahine (7-9, 1-2 Western Athletic Conference) garner their first league win under new coach Dana Takahara-Dias by protecting a narrow lead for the final 13 minutes. UH put the game away with a Keisha Kanekoa pull-up 3-pointer, six points in the final 3 minutes from Breanna Arbuckle and two fullcourt passes in the final minute for easy baskets against the Vandals' press.

“;The players had a gut-check time. We talked about that down the end ... we were able to (close) with really great and smart basketball,”; Takahara-Dias said. “;It's really encouraging to see our team making the runs instead of playing catch-up.”;

Arbuckle scored a career-high 18 points with six rebounds and three blocks, and Kanekoa hustled for 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 39 minutes.

“;I was just doing what I was told, and the guards kept giving me good passes, and I was trying to get them assists,”; said Arbuckle, who shot 7-for-11.

UH jumped out to a 10-0 lead as Idaho missed 24 of its first 27 shots, but the Vandals outscored the Wahine 20-11 to head into halftime tied at 26.

Punahou graduate Shaena-Lyn Kuehu led the Vandals (2-13, 0-2) with 13 points.