It was not the way Hawaii nor No. 8 Stanford wanted the Rainbow Wahine Showdown to end.
Cardinal guard Anna Wilson, the younger sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, was taken from the Stan Sheriff Center to a hospital via ambulance after going down hard on her back in the final minute of play in the four-team women’s basketball tournament Sunday. But the 5-foot-9 junior escaped serious injury, according to Stanford later that night.
As Wilson lay immobile near the Rainbow Wahine bench with 48.6 seconds left, the game was called early — a very rare occurrence — with the Cardinal ahead 81-59.
No objection from UH.
Wilson, a part-time starter, lost her balance near the sideline during play and fell into the UH bench seating. A hush went over the crowd of 482 as Wahine coaches and players cleared out to give athletic trainers space. She was down in that spot for about a half-hour and was loaded onto a stretcher.
“You never want a player to get injured,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “I don’t care how the tournament ends, I don’t care how that game ended. It was the right call to call the game. Obviously we’re concerned for her safety.”
At about 6 p.m., close to two hours after the game ended, the Stanford team Twitter account posted: “Scan clear. Anna is okay and will be with the team on the flight home.” The Cardinal were scheduled to depart on a red-eye flight Sunday night.
There was relief on social media from both teams for Wilson, who was taken from the arena on a stretcher with paramedics. Wilson scored two points in 15 minutes.
It was a dominant three days in the islands for the national contender, capped with 56.6 percent shooting Sunday. Forward Alanna Smith scored a season-high 30 points on 12-for-15 shooting to lead the Cardinal (6-0).
The Wahine (1-7), who were at a severe size disadvantage, were competitive at the outset (they even shot 13-for-22 on 3-point attempts, easily a season best) but fell behind steadily and lost their third straight. They next host Idaho on Dec. 5.
“They’re a fun team to watch, they’re a fun team to play against because they do things so efficiently,” Beeman said. “You don’t come back on a team like Stanford. They’re too well coached, they’re too disciplined. So we had dug ourselves a little bit of a hole. But I’m incredibly proud of the way we came out aggressively. We executed some things, we were able to score some points.”
UH took an 8-6 lead on a 3 by Amy Atwell, but the Wahine missed four or five clean layups in the first half. It was 40-22 at halftime.
“I think they’re much better than their record indicates, and unfortunately sometimes when you lose games like they’ve lost, you lose confidence,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Early in the game they missed a lot of easy shots. Our defense wasn’t getting it done. … But I think playing really good competition hopefully will help them and down the road, hopefully they’ll have a great season.”
Smith was named tournament MVP, while the Pac-12 team’s Nadia Fingall was also named to the all-tournament team. Forward Kenna Woodfolk (16 points) made the team for UH.
