In a game remarkable only for its statistical improbability, Washington State shot less than 30 percent from the field (65 percent from the line), turned the ball over 18 times, and fell behind by 11 points in the first five minutes yet somehow managed to blow out the Rainbow Wahine, 66-48, yesterday at Stan Sheriff Center.

Sarah Ilic scored 14 of her career-high 16 points in an otherwise dismal second half for the Rainbow Wahine. Meanwhile, Keisha Kanekoa scored all 12 of her points in the first half, and added team highs of nine rebounds and three assists.

Megan Tinnin, the team's second-leading scorer at 10.8 points per game, was held scoreless in 17 minutes of play.

The Cougars were led by April Cook's 17 points. Katie Appleton and Jazmine Perkins each chipped in 12 points.

With the loss, the Rainbow Wahine dropped to 2-8.

"Everything (WSU) did, we went over," said UH head coach Jim Bolla. "It wasn't that the kids didn't know what they were going to do, we just didn't stop them. We just had a team go out there not working hard. You're not going to win games when people are out there not working hard."

Despite its woeful shooting, Washington State (7-2) held a 54-39 rebounding advantage. The difference was most damaging on the offensive glass, as the Cougars grabbed 26 offensive rebounds (compared to just 12 for UH) and scored 22 points off second-chance opportunities.

WSU also took advantage of sloppy Hawai'i ball-handling in the second half, scoring 18 points off 16 UH turnovers.

Kanekoa and Allie Patterson combined for 10 points as the Rainbow Wahine raced to a 14-3 lead.

The Cougars battled back from beyond the arc, unleashing an 18-2 run behind the 3-point shooting of Appleton, Perkins and Cook.

The Cougars took an eight-point lead off three consecutive 3-pointers by Cook and Appleton.

A pair of free throws by Kanekoa cut the deficit to 32-28 at the half.

But Hawai'i's troubles were just beginning. Bolla sat a visibly frustrated Kanekoa for much of the early part of the second half. When Kanekoa finally returned, she missed all four of her field-goal attempts and turned the ball over seven times.

Stymied by the Cougars' zone, the Rainbow Wahine went 10 minutes and 21 seconds without a field goal to start the second half as the Cougars ran the score to 47-28.

"We went over for the last three days how we were going to attack it, and we didn't," Bolla said. "We matched up with their zone. We helped them out.

"One of the principles against the zone is to make it shift one or two times before you look at the basket," he said. "We would just go to one side and put it up — if we didn't turn it over."

Dita Liepkalne broke the drought with a layup, but the Cougars were on a roll.

Heather Molzen's driving layup sparked a 14-2 run that gave WSU a 25-point lead with 2:48 left in a game that, from either perspective, had dissolved into a mirthless comedy of errors.

The teams combined for 27 turnovers in the second half. The Rainbow Wahine shot just 30.8 percent from the field in the half, just slightly better than the Cougars (28.2), and appeared flustered by their own erratic play.

In one two-minute span late in the game, Ebony Jones twice fouled WSU shooters on 3-point attempts.

"It's frustrating because we're better than this," Bolla said.

Hawai'i will have a chance to prove it when the teams meet again Monday.