It may have been relatively warm outside in Honolulu on Monday night, but the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff was ice cold in women’s basketball.
UAPB fell 56-15 to Hawaii at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center after its worst shooting night of the season.
UAPB (2-7) made 6 of its 55 shots, a season-low 10.9%. The Lady Lions made 1 of 24 attempts from 3-point range and finished 2 for 2 at the free throw line.
Two fast-break buckets in the final 3 minutes, one by sophomore guard Uriah Jennings and one by junior guard Nadiyah Byard, allowed UAPB to avoid the NCAA record for the fewest points scored by a Division I women’s basketball team. Tennessee State scored 11 in a loss to Georgia Tech in 2010.
Those late points also prevented UAPB from tying the NCAA record for fewest points in a half. Lipscomb scored 2 points in the first half against Western Kentucky in 2016, a number Ole Miss matched in the first half against South Carolina in 2020.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB got junior guard D’Arrah Allen back from injury for this game but played without leading scorer Janiyah Tucker, one of four absences.
Hawaii (6-3) also struggled offensively in the first quarter, though not as much as UAPB. Neither team scored until Hawaii senior guard Lily Wahinekapu hit a 3-pointer at the 5:58 mark of the first quarter. The 3-0 score remained until senior MeiLani McBee hit a 3-pointer with 2:11 to play in the period.
UAPB junior Ashley Rojas hit a jumper with 17 seconds left to avoid being shut out in the first. The Lady Lions got a little more offense going in the second quarter but trailed 21-9 at halftime.
Hawaii outscored UAPB 25-0 in the third quarter to put the game away. UAPB reached double digits with 6:15 remaining in the fourth on a jumper by junior guard Empress Roberts.
UAPB’s 15 points were the fewest Hawaii has allowed against a Division I opponent, with the previous low being UTEP’s 31 in 1999. The Rainbow Wahine’s all-time lowest points allowed came against Hawaii-Hilo, which scored 12 in the 1974-75 season. This was also Hawaii’s first time holding a team below 11% from the floor.
Senior post Brooklyn Rewers led the Rainbow Wahine with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Wahinekapu scored 11 points. Hawaii made 11 of 34 3-point attempts, led by Rewers’ 3 of 3.
Jennings led UAPB with 5 points and made the lone 3-pointer. Rojas scored 4 points with five rebounds.
This was UAPB’s first game since Dec. 1, in which the Lady Lions shot 27.1% against North Alabama. Until Monday night, only the 14.8% shooting day against Ole Miss was worse.