KAPOLEI — On a day so windy kites stayed home, Stanford senior Kelly Husted and eighth-ranked Southern California blew by everyone to win the Rainbow Wahine's Kent Youel Invitational yesterday.

Husted finished a wire-to-wire win by closing with the day's sole sub-par score at blustery Kapolei Golf Course. Her 1-under 71, with three birdies, gave her a 54-hole total of 4-under 212.

"I really do like playing in the wind," insisted Husted, from Florida. "I think it helps me because my strength is course management. When it's windy like this you have to be patient and you have to manage your game well. That plays into my hand."

She played Kapolei as if she owned it for her first collegiate victory. Husted fired the tournament's only sub-70 round (69) Tuesday morning and followed with a 72 in the afternoon, before yesterday's "hit it hard and hit it solid and hope it goes where you want" 71.

USC's Irene Cho (75—221) was a distant second, but had plenty of consolation in her team's six-shot victory over Stanford (896—902). Long Beach State (907) took third and Hawai'i (955) was 15th in the 18-team tournament.

The 97 golfers managed just six sub-par rounds in the tournament. With the breeze up to 35 mph, yesterday was a weird wind tunnel typified best by USC's Veronica Felibert, who more than made up for a triple bogey by acing the downwind, 149-yard 12th hole with an 8-iron.

"When you're playing in a three-club wind like we were today it's easy to get impatient," said USC coach Andrea Gaston, whose team won the 2003 NCAA title. "You're going to have high numbers sometimes. ... Their patience and tenacity won it for them. They just never lost it."

Felibert was the only Trojan who did not finish in the top 15. The highest Hawai'i finisher was not from the University of Hawai'i. Kaua'i's Lehua Wise, a junior at New Mexico State, tied for 18th at 77—231.

UH junior Dale Gammie (75) was another shot back. Teammate Lisa Kajihara (76), a junior transfer, finished at 236 and sophomore Xyra Suyetsugu (81—238) was the only other Rainbow in the top 50.

Those three are the anchors of coach Ashley Adleta's team. She needs at least one more consistent scorer to seriously compete.

Adleta's goals are to climb into the WAC's top three — they have never finished better than fifth — and then try to qualify for regionals and return to the Top 60.

Adleta played on two national championship teams at Arizona State and worked with three more. She believes recruiting, like coaching, involves more than bringing in the best golfer.

"There's no magical equation," she said "My coach at ASU looked at everything — athlete, family, personality. There's a lot more to it than just golf."

There's also the matter of making UH enticing enough to keep more elite players — such as Wise, Mari Chun (Kamehameha/Stanford), Leah Whiting (Waiakea/Oregon State) and Kira Murashige (Waiakea/Long Beach State) — home. All four finished in top 48 yesterday.

"We need to win a tournament," Adleta said. "We need more exposure. Just everything, really."

NOTE

The tournament is named after Rainbow Wahine Booster Club President Kent Youel, who has sponsored it three years.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.