Jim Bolla praised Amy Kotani's guard play last night against Boise State, but the Hawai'i women's coach was far from complimentary about his team's recent losing streak.

Tasha Harris scored a game-high 16 points and the Broncos remained undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference, fending off the 'Bows, 62-53, despite a career night by junior reserve Kotani, who finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in the second half.

"She's got the heart the size of an elephant," Bolla said of the 5-foot-2 Kotani, a Moanalua High School alum. "She'll do whatever you ask her to do. I wish I had a bunch of Amy Kotanis."

A crowd of 418 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the first-place Broncos (14-4, 5-0) win their sixth straight and earn their first victory ever in Honolulu. The Rainbow Wahine (7-11, 1-5) have lost six of their past seven.

"It's frustrating," Bolla said. "We're better than how we're playing."

Hawai'i — which trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half — rallied to within one point in the second half but couldn't overtake the Broncos. Kotani helped sparked the rally with a career-high three 3-pointers in the final nine minutes.

"I wasn't nervous," said Kotani, who punctuated every 3 with a fist pump. "Our posts were playing really well in the game and that left our outside shots open."

Hawai'i sliced Boise State's nine-point halftime lead to 45-44 when Iwona Zagrobelna's putback capped a 9-0 run with 7:26 left. Zagrobelna scored four points during the surge and Kotani added a 3-pointer.

Kotani's second 3-pointer closed Hawai'i to 49-47 with 5:22, but that's as close as the 'Bows would get as they were outscored 13-6 the rest of the way.

"Hawai'i made a great comeback," said Boise State coach Gordy Presnell, whose team eliminated Hawai'i in last season's WAC Tournament quarterfinals, 72-63, in Reno, Nev. "Down low, we couldn't handle their bigs. But in the last five minutes, I felt we held our composure and got the win."

Tanya Smith led the 'Bows with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Boise State's Jessica Thompson, the WAC Player of the Week, added 14 points and Jackie Lee had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"We're putting in the effort," Smith said. "But it's not showing up in wins."

Janevia Taylor scored Hawai'i's first seven points in the first three minutes, but played only seven more minutes in the first half. She finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.

Taylor moved to shooting guard in the second half — her natural position — and that allowed Kotani to play the point. Asked if Kotani would see more time at the point, Bolla responded: "I don't know. It depends on who we're playing and what they're doing."

UH held an early 9-8 lead, but Boise State responded with a run for a 28-15 edge. The Broncos hit four 3-pointers in the surge and finished with seven for the game.

Late in the first half, Hawai'i's Saundra Cariaga blocked Bridgette Reyes, grabbed the loose ball and scored on a layup, and teammate Amber Lee followed with a putback as the 'Bows cut the deficit to 32-23 at halftime.

Hawai'i had 23 turnovers in the game, including 15 in the first half. Boise State outscored Hawai'i, 23-15, off turnovers.

Hawai'i got two highlight plays from Taylor early in the second half. Brittany Grice scored on a layup after a nifty wrap-around pass from Taylor, who lost her right shoe on the play. Moments later and still shoeless, Taylor stole the ball.

Boise State earned one of its biggest wins in the program's history last week when it upset host Louisiana Tech, 68-47. The Lady Techsters, the five-time defending WAC champion, had not lost a home conference game in 15 years, spanning 114 games.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.