Marina Semis
Carlos Puma
58
UC Riverside UCR 17-15
66
Winner Hawaii Hawaii 15-15
UC Riverside UCR
17-15
58
Final
66
Hawaii Hawaii
15-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Riverside UCR 12 19 15 12 58
Hawaii Hawaii 16 22 12 16 66

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Falls 66-58 to Hawaii in Big West Semifinal Matchup

ANAHEIM, Calif.—The goal every season for the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team is to win a Big West Championship. No matter the injuries and outcomes that happened this season, it's something that never changed.

When that goal was halted on Friday in a 66-58 loss in the Big West Tournament Semifinals against Hawaii, it was a tough pill to swallow.  

"They have never quit, overcame adversity and never made excuses," head coach John Margaritis said. "They never stopped trying."

Down 11-4 halfway through the first quarter, the Highlanders (17-15, 10-6) went on an 8-0 run to take a one point lead with 1:15 left in the quarter. It would prove to be their only lead of the game.

Both teams walked back to their benches out of breath once the buzzer sounded to end the quarter. With no media timeout and both teams playing their starting five the entire quarter, no break occurred.

Once the second quarter got underway, Hawaii went on a quick 8-2 run to go up by 10 points, which marked its largest lead of the game. While the Highlanders shot 61.5 percent from the field, the Rainbow Wahine shot 80 percent and went into halftime with a 38-31 lead.

The third quarter was one full of runs. Imploring his team to be patient and attack, the Highlanders went on a 6-0 run in the middle of the quarter. Right after that, the Rainbow Wahine went on a 7-2 run to increase its lead to 48-41.

"We had trouble attacking inside and couldn't get to the line," Margaritis said. "We couldn't get anything close to the basket."

Both teams started out cold from the field in the fourth quarter. Four points were scored in the first four minutes, before Lahni Salanoa sunk a three-pointer to increase Hawaii's lead to 55-48. It highlighted a disparity between the teams throughout the game. While Hawaii went 7-for-17 from the three-point line, UCR was 3-for-16.

Even with that discrepancy, the Highlanders wouldn't go away easily. Senior Malou De Kergret cut Hawaii's lead to 57-55 with 2:56 left. That's as close as the Highlanders would get.

De Kergret, in her final game for UCR, finished with a team-high 20 points. It marked the fourth time this season that she scored 20 or more points.

"It is a tough place to be when it is your last game," Margaritis said. "Once things settle down, she will be able to remember all of the great stuff that happened during her career here."

Picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason poll, the Highlanders proved plenty wrong.

"We continued to fight and improve the entire year," Margaritis said. "All the way to the very end."