The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team may have lost more than the Bank of Hawaii Invitational title game last night.

Senior wing and co-captain Pam Tambini suffered an injury to her left ankle late in Hawai'i's 78-64 loss to visiting Oklahoma State. The team's leading scorer was on crutches following the game.

"I couldn't put pressure on it," said Tambini, who was examined by team physician Dr. Robert Kagawa and is scheduled to undergo x-rays soon. "It's a sharp pain. He just thinks it's a really bad sprain."

Tambini's mishap is the latest injury to the Rainbow Wahine co-captains. Hawai'i senior center Brittany Grice, who is recovering from a herniated disc in her back, returned last night after missing Friday's 70-49 victory over San Francisco.

Hawai'i received an early boost from Grice, but the Rainbow Wahine (6-6) could not knock out Oklahoma State (12-1), which rallied from a 33-30 halftime deficit and outscored the Rainbow Wahine 48-31 in the second half when it shot 53 percent (18 of 34).

A crowd of 393 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the Rainbow Wahine miss an opportunity to gain some momentum for the start of the Western Athletic Conference season next week. Hawai'i, which played its final preseason game last night, begins WAC play Jan. 4, against visiting New Mexico State.

Oklahoma State repeatedly scored inside and finished with a 42-24 scoring advantage in the key. It also outscored the Rainbows on fast-break points, 14-0, and off turnovers, 18-0.

Rashidat Sadiq led the way with a game-high 19 points and four steals for the Cowgirls. Teammate Shaunte' Smith added 18 points, Danielle Green 17 points and nine rebounds, and tournament MVP Andrea Riley 12 points and eight assists.

"We got the looks, but we didn't get the right passes inside," said Hawai'i forward Tanya Smith, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. "We didn't get enough movement on the outside. We weren't opening up the key enough."

Hawai'i's Janevia Taylor scored 17 points with five assists, and Dalia Solia had 11 points and six rebounds.

Oklahoma State started the second half on a tear and Smith's layup capped a 20-4 run that gave the Cowgirls a 50-37 lead with 14:30 left. Green and Smith scored six points apiece during the burst.

"You can't go 20-4 against these kind of teams," UH coach Jim Bolla said. "We fight back to get it close, but they have one or two players who say, 'I'm taking the game over.' We've got players who are just scared. We don't have a go-to player. That's what we're missing on this team. ... We've got to figure out a way to get tough."

But Hawai'i rallied with three 3-pointers — two by Taylor — during a 16-6 run to tie the game at 56 with 6:11 left. Taylor scored eight points and Saundra Cariaga five in the run.

After that, it didn't get any better for Hawai'i or Tambini, who landed awkwardly after she was fouled by Riley on a 3-point attempt with Oklahoma State ahead 58-56 with 5:18 remaining.

Tambini, who averages 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, was helped off the court by Kagawa, athletic trainer Jayson Goo and associate coach Pat Charity. She finished with one point, five rebounds and four assists and watched the rest of the game on the sidelines with an ice pack on her ankle. Solia replaced Tambini at the foul line, and made one of three free throws.

Oklahoma State responded with a 11-3 run to take a 69-60 lead with 2:17 remaining. Hawai'i cut the gap to 69-62 on Smith's basket with 53 seconds left, but it would get no closer.

"We didn't play well in the first half," Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke said. "We put a heck of a run in the second half. I thought the kids did a better job of identifying shooters in the second half and I think that was the difference in the game."

Hawai'i sank four 3-pointers during a 12-6 run to grab a 29-25 lead in the first half. Solia had two 3s while Iwona Zagrobelna and Taylor had one apiece during the surge.

Hawai'i maintained a 33-29 lead when Grice, who had seven first-half points along with Taylor, scored in the lane.

Grice entered the game at the 15:15 mark and finished with seven points and one rebound in 18 minutes. Zagrobelna replaced Grice in the starting lineup and finished with three points, three blocks and two rebounds.

Oklahoma State made just 1 of 7 free throws in the first half, and missed three in the final minute, as Hawai'i took a 33-30 lead at intermission.

San Francisco 63, Columbia 51: Shay Rollins and Dominique Carter scored 18 points apiece as the Dons (5-9) fended off the Lions (3-9) for the consolation title.

San Francisco outrebounded the Lions, 43-32, and led by as many as 18 points, 44-26, with 13:54 left in the second half, but Columbia closed the gap to 51-45 with 5:56 to play.

Megan Griffin scored a game-high 23 points for the Lions. Columbia senior forward Becky Hogue, a 2003 Punahou alum, had seven points and three rebounds.

COLUMBIA (3-9) 20 31—51

SAN FRANCISCO (5-9) 34 29—63

COLUMBIA—Frazier 2-6 1-2 5. Hogue 2-9 3-3 7. Browne 1-2 0-0 2. Griffith 8-19 2-2 23. Yee 2-4 0-0 4. Cragg 0-2 0-0 0. Henderson 2-5 0-0 4. Carey 0-4 0-0 0. Stachon 0-0 0-0 0. Carfora 2-6 0-0 6.

SAN FRANCISCO—Warren 4-10 1-2 9. Olden 1-6 1-4 3. Rollins 5-12 7-8 18. Heintz 2-3 0-0 4. Peace 4-11 0-0 9. Richardson 0-2 0-0 0. Mihalco 0-2 0-0 0. Carter 8-16 2-3 18. Guerra 1-1 0-0 2. Shorts 0-0 0-0 0. Sitton 0-0 0-0 0.

3-Point Goals—Columbia 7-19 (Griffith 5-10, Carfora 2-3, Hogue 0-1, Yee 0-1, Cragg 0-1, Carey 0-3). San Francisco 2-15 (Peace 1-3, Rollins 1-5, Heintz 0-1, Richardson 0-2, Mihalco 0-2, Carter 0-2). Rebounds—Columbia 32 (Griffith 6, Carfora 5). San Francisco 43 (Heintz 8, Peace 7). Assists—Columbia 14 (Griffith 3, Yee 3). San Francisco 14 (Richardson 5). Total Fouls—Columbia 15. San Francisco 10. Turnovers—Columbia 13. San Francisco 11. Blocks—Columbia 4. San Francisco 1. Steals—Columbia 8. San Francisco 7.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.