Cardinal reigns over the Bows

The host Rainbow Wahine started out hot against the Cardinal, leading by as much as eight points until the Cardinal took its first lead at the nine-minute mark. The score stayed close for four more minutes with three ties and five lead changes.

Then, with 6:46 left in the half, the Cardinal went on a 5-20 run. They were ahead by 14 at the break, a lead the Bows were not able to overcome.

Even so, the Bows never stopped challenging. They cut the lead to six points midway through the second half. Several times the Cardinal sank what should have been a game-deciding 3-pointer only to have the Bows immediately drop in an answering shot. In the end, the Cardinal led by 13 points — 86-73

The Cardinal shot a sizzling 57.4% tonight, including 12 of 18 three-pointers and 12 of 15 free throws.

Lili, who attended Punahou High School in Honolulu before moving to Texas, had a lot of supporters in the stands. She rewarded them richly with the game-high 26 points on 57% shooting. She sank her career-high six three-pointers on seven attempts. She also tallied five assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal, and made all four of her free throws.

Amber had a few less points than Lili (19), but she led her team with shots when they were most needed. She began the Cardinal run in the first half with a steal and a fast break layup. When the Bows were whittling down the Cardinal lead in the second half, it was Amber who regained control with two three-pointers. In addition to her scoring, Amber dished out eight assists and turned the ball over only twice.

Kaylee and Bird also scored in double digits, but didn't quite make double-doubles.

Kaylee was hampered by being called for fouls and played for just 16 minutes, during which she got eight rebounds and matched her career-high score of ten points on perfect five-of-five shooting.

Bird set a career high with nine rebounds. She also controlled her shot attempts well and made five of eight, scoring a total of eleven points.

In the other game today, North Carolina crushed Prairie View A&M 81-45. UNC held PV to 20.5% field goal shooting, but PV didn't give up easily. Guard Jeannette Jackson led add scorers with 24 points — 16 of them from the free throw line!

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Happy Homecoming, the Associated Press game recap (posted by Stanford Athletics
• No. 5/4 Stanford Holds Off Hawai'i, 86-73, the Hawai'i Athletics game recap
• No. 5 Stanford beats Rainbow Wahine basketball team 86-73 from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
• Long range goals come in handy for the Cardinal women from Palo Alto Online
• Improved on day two by Wally Mersereau, FBC traveller

The box score and play-by-play,

A gallery of photos by David Cortesi — the past three days of action in Honolulu.