The Rainbow Wahine squandered a 17-point first-half lead but showed just enough when it counted to defeat Washington State, 65-59, last night at Stan Sheriff Center.

Megan Tinnin broke out of her recent shooting slump to lead Hawai'i with 20 points and eight rebounds. Sarah Ilic played another solid game, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and four steals.

The Cougars (7-3) — who beat Hawai'i, 66-48, Friday — got 14 points from Jazmine Perkins and 11 from April Cook, but the two shot a combined 8-for-30 from the field. As a whole, WSU shot just 33 percent for the game.

The Rainbow Wahine (3-8) were without top scorer and assists leader Keisha Kanekoa, who sprained her right ankle during practice on Sunday. It's not known whether Kanekoa will be back in time for Hawai'i's Jan. 2 game against Pepperdine.

Kanekoa's absence was apparent as Hawai'i's three starting guards — Catherine Cho, Leilani Galdones and Tinnin — combined for just five assists against 16 turnovers. As a team, Hawai'i turned over the ball a season-high 29 times.

"For a team to turn it over as many times as we did and still win is pretty unique," said UH head coach Jim Bolla. "But I thought we played well. We hung tough at the end, especially without having Keisha. It was something to smile about."

The Rainbow Wahine led 14-13 with 7 1/2 minutes to go in the first half, then went on a 16-0 run, keyed by freshman Breanna Arbuckle, who scored all of her eight points in the period, and capped by back-to-back baskets by Tinnin.

A free throw by Dita Liepkalne gave UH a 31-16 lead at the half.

The Cougars crept back with 3-pointers by Cook, Perkins and Rosie Tarnowski, but the 'Bows didn't fold.

Ebonee Coates' three-point play with six minutes left in the game brought the Cougars within four points of UH, but 6-foot-2 center Ilic responded with a high-arcing 3-pointer from the top of the key.

With the Rainbow Wahine effectively shutting down opportunities near the basket, WSU continued to bomb away from outside. Katie Appleton's third 3-pointer in a two-minute span eventually tied the game, 51-51, with 3:20 to play.

The Rainbow Wahine's end game was hardly artful — back-to-back missed free throws by Tinnin, a charging call on Cho, and a defensive lapse that allowed Perkins to hit a 3-pointer off a half-court pass to cut into a four-point UH lead with five seconds left — but their 12-of-16 free-throw shooting and otherwise solid defense down the stretch sealed the game.

With 15 seconds left, Tinnin missed the back end of a one-and-one but Ilic got the rebound, was fouled by Heather Molzen and hit a pair of free throws to give UH a 58-54 lead.

"We went after it harder and stronger," Ilic said. "We just wanted it more."

Down 61-59 with two seconds left, WSU saw its last chance slip away when Liepkalne stole an inbounds pass and Coates' ensuing foul was ruled intentional, giving UH two free throws plus possession. Liepkalne hit four free throws to end the scoring.

"We obviously didn't want to give up a 17-point lead, but we held together and it was good for us to end the year on a win," Tinnin said.

On Friday, UH found itself on the wrong side of a 54-39 rebounding differential. Last night, the Rainbow Wahine outrebounded the Cougars, 47-35, scoring nine points on second-chance opportunities.

"We worked a lot on boxing out," Bolla said. "That's all we did for the last two days, and they were definitely motivated."