Destiny King scored 22 points, Diane Moore added 15, and Kamilah Martin had 14 to lead the University of Hawaii to a 72-47 win over the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Friday night.
Destiny King scored 22 points, Diane Moore added 15, and Kamilah Martin had 14 to lead the University of Hawaii to a 72-47 win over the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Friday night.
The women’s exhibition basketball game was played at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. It was the debut for new Rainbow Wahine head coach Laura Beeman.
King, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Long Beach, Calif., hit 7 of 8 field goals on her way to her game-high 22 points for the NCAA Division I Rainbow Wahine. She also had six rebounds and three assists.
Moore is a 5-10 junior from Nagoya, Japan. Martin had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. UH outrebounded the smaller Vulcans 46-23.
“Offensively, we didn’t execute very well, and our shot selection is not there yet,” UH-Hilo head coach David Kaneshiro said. “That’s to be expected with just two weeks of practice. But I saw some good things going on, and our execution is going to get better.
“I’m pleased with our effort. The girls played hard and didn’t hang their heads when UH extended the lead. We just kept playing hard, and we’re going to get better.”
Senior guard Jameia McDuffie led the Division II Vulcans with 10 points and three steals. Senior forward Shannon Rosseau had nine points, and junior Kamie Imai, a 5-9 transfer from Utah State, chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
The Rainbow Wahine led 44-26 at the intermission before outscoring the Vulcans 28-21 in the second half.
Former Big Island prep standouts Pua Kailiawa (three points, two rebounds, 16 minutes) and Kanisha Bello (no points, 9 minutes) played for UH in the game, while ex-Hilo High star Vicky Tagalicod sat out while recovering from an injury. Kailiawa played at Ka’u, and Bello played at Waiakea and Kamehameha-Hawaii.
“The Rainbow Wahine are a good team,” Kaneshiro said. “They should do pretty well this year.”
The Lady Vulcans play one more exhibition game — Nov. 3 vs. D. One — before opening their 2012-13 season by hosting Chaminade in a preseason game on Nov. 17. D. One is a Hawaii team comprised of former college players, including ex-UH standout Nani Cockett.
The D. One contest will be played at 5 p.m. at Kawananakoa Gym. The Chaminade game will be played at 3 p.m. at the UH-Hilo gym.
• On the road: The UH-Hilo men’s basketball team, under coach Jeff Law, will leave Tuesday for Pittsburgh for exhibition games against NCAA Division I Pittsburgh (Nov. 2) and Duquesne (Nov. 4).
The Vulcans then play Western Oregon (Nov. 9) and St. Martin’s (Nov. 10) on their way back home.
UH-Hilo then takes on Maryville University on Nov. 19 at the UH-Hilo gym to open a three-game home stand.