"They really killed us with those 3s," said Bolla, a former Nevada-Las Vegas coach who took over the program from longtime coach Vince Goo, who retired this year. "We weren't contesting their shots. I wasn't happy with our 3-point defense."

Hawai'i will host Utah (1-2) today at 1:10 p.m. The tournament concludes tomorrow.

Even with Santa Clara's record-setting performance, Hawai'i led 68-67 with 1:54 remaining but was outscored 8-0 to end the game.

"We had three or four opportunities, but it didn't fall for us," Bolla said.

Bolla said he was particularly troubled with Hawai'i's lack of offense late in the game. After shooting 50 percent (15 of 30) in the first half, Hawai'i dropped to 32 percent (12 of 37) in the second half.

"With seven minutes left in the game, we had 63 points," Bolla said. "To finish the game with 68, that's kind of the disappointment right there. We're better than that."

Hawai'i outrebounded Santa Clara, 50-38, but committed 19 turnovers to the Broncos' 11.

Santa Clara's Ashley Graham scored a game-high 18 points and Quinn Thomas added 16. Hawai'i's Jade Abele scored 13, Janevia Taylor 12 and Brittany Grice 10. Hawai'i's Amy Sanders had 10 rebounds.

Hawai'i rallied from a 51-39 second-half deficit and took a 60-59 lead on Trisha Nishimoto's layup. Nishimoto set up the go-ahead score by absorbing a charge from Tracey Walker on the previous play.

Hawai'i increased its to 66-62 on a basket by Grice with 4:29 remaining, but the Broncos came storming back.

After a 3-pointer by Graham and layup by Thomas that helped the Broncos regain a 67-66 lead, Abele's layup put the Rainbow Wahine ahead 68-67 with 1:54 left.

Santa Clara's Kasey Monteith responded with a go-ahead basket and Thomas — the Broncos career 3-point markswoman — followed with one of her three 3-pointers for a 72-68 lead with 46 seconds left.

"I was having a little trouble with my shot in the beginning, but my coaches told me to follow through," said Thomas, who was 3 of 11 from 3-point range. "It was just a typical shot, nothing big."

With Hawai'i forced to foul, Santa Clara ended the final seconds hitting 3-of-4 free throws.

"They shoot those 3-pointers like their free throws," Hawai'i's Taylor said. "We didn't get out on them and that's what happens."

The Broncos finished 13 of 35 from beyond the 3-point line. Six Santa Clara players had at least one 3-point basket in the game.

"People say you live and die by the 3, but it's one of our strengths," Santa Clara coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said. "We're going to continue to go to our strengths."

The previous tournament record for 3-pointers was 12 by Weber State in 2001. The previous record for most 3-pointers by a Hawai'i opponent was 12 by San Jose State last season.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.

• • •

Other first-round games

• No. 3 Georgia 77, Idaho 55: Cori Chambers and Tasha Humphrey each scored 18 points, leading No. 3 Georgia (3-0) to a victory over the Vandals (2-1).

The Lady Bulldogs made 10 of their first 16 shots and used a man-to-man defense to build a 22-7 lead with 13 minutes left in the opening half.

No. 3 GEORGIA 77, IDAHO 55

IDAHO (2-1)

Mitchell 6-9 3-4 18, Faurholt 4-21 5-8 13, Frazee 1-4 3-5 6, Felton 2-6 3-3 7, Westbrooks 0-1 0-0 0, Thoelke 1-3 0-0 3, Summers 4-11 0-2 8. Totals 18-55 14-22 55.

GEORGIA (3-0)

Sherill 4-13 1-1 9, Greene 0-0 0-0 0, Pierce 4-7 0-0 8, Hardrick 2-7 0-0 4, Bostice 0-0 0-0 0, Chambers 6-14 3-4 18, Darrah 4-8 0-0 9, Kendrick 2-4 0-0 5, Frye 0-1 0-0 0, Humphrey 8-15 2-3 18, Rowsey 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 33-75 6-8 77.

Halftime—Georgia 43-19. 3-Point goals—Idaho 5-19 (Mitchell 3-4, Thoelke 1-2, Frazee 1-3, Westbrooks 0-1, Felton 0-4, Faurholt 0-5), Georgia 5-14 (Chambers 3-4, Darrah 1-2, Kendrick 1-2, Baker 0-1, Pierce 0-1, Frye 0-1, Humphrey 0-1, Hardrick 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Idaho 36 ( Felton 9), Georgia 46 (Pierce, Rowsey 9). Assists—Idaho 9 (Mitchell, Faurholt 3), Georgia 13 (Kendrick 7). Total fouls—Idaho 7, Georgia 21.

• No. 13 Michigan St. 56, Utah 54: Kristin Haynie made a coast-to-coast layup with 2 seconds left to give No. 13 Michigan State (3-0) a victory over Utah (1-2).

No. 13 MICHIGAN ST. 56, UTAH 54

UTAH (1-2)

Smith 3-10 3-4 10, Thornburn 3-11 3-4 11, Brouillard 3-6 0-0 7, Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Hanchett 2-6 0-0 4, Allen 1-2 0-0 2, Sitterud 3-6 0-0 8, Warner 4-6 2-2 12, Perry 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 8-10 54.

MICHIGAN ST. (3-0)

Haynie 4-9 4-5 12, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, Bowen 5-11 1-2 13, Haynes 0-6 2-2 2, Dwyer 0-3 0-0 0, Lucas-Perry 3-7 0-0 8, Roehrig 2-8 2-4 6, Grantham 0-0 0-0 0, Bannister 0-2 0-0 0, Shimek 7-13 1-2 15. Totals 21-59 10-15 56.

Halftime—Michigan St. 24-19. 3-Point goals—Utah 8-18 (Warner 2-2, Sitterud 2-4, Thornburn 2-4, Smith 1-3, Brouillard 1-3, Wood 0-1, Perry 0-1), Michigan St. 4-12 (Bowen 2-3, Lucas-Perry 2-5, Dwyer 0-1, Shimek 0-1, Haynes 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Utah 31 (Smith 11), Michigan St. 38 (Roehrig 9). Assists—Utah 15 (Thornburn 7), Michigan St. 11 (Haynie 5). Total fouls—Utah 13, Michigan St. 14.

• TCU 96, California 89: Sandora Irvin scored 27 points and Adrianne Ross added 23 to lead Texas Christian (3-1) past California (1-1).

TCU 96, CALIFORNIA 89

CALIFORNIA (1-1)

Pool 3-8 0-0 7, Erdogan 0-1 1-2 1, Iwanaga 5-8 3-3 16, Rode 0-0 0-0 0, Foster 3-7 0-0 6, Gregory 11-15 2-3 25, Lawson 5-7 1-1 11, Williams 5-9 4-4 18, Soumare 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 0-10 0-0 0, Coakley 2-6 1-2 5. Totals 34-71 12-15 89.

TCU (3-1)

Thiel 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 1-1 0-0 2, Knight 0-2 0-0 0, Lacy 1-4 2-2 4, Holmes 0-0 0-0 0, Clementino 5-8 2-2 12, Newton 6-11 5-5 17, Ross 9-16 4-4 23, Davis 4-9 0-0 11, Lohse 0-0 0-0 0, Irvin 7-11 13-19 27. Totals 33 26-32 96.

Halftime—California 39-38. 3-Point goals—California 9-11 (Pool 1-2, Iwanaga 3-4, Gregory 1-1, Williams 4-4), TCU 4-12 (Lacy 0-2, Clementino 0-1, Ross 1-3, Davis 3-6. Fouled out—California: Lawson. Rebounds—California 35 (Pool 8), TCU 32 (Irvin 8). Assists—California 21 (Pool 10), TCU 15 (Lacy 10). Total fouls—California 24, TCU 19.