The happy zone for Utah State's Ana Pares was beyond the 3-point line last night against Hawai'i.

Anything closer was simply too close.

For the Rainbow Wahine, the misery and frustration continued as their losing streak reached eight after a 52-43 loss to Utah State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"We made progress in that we're still in there at the end," said Hawai'i coach Jim Bolla. "The last couple games, with four minutes (left), it's 20 points. Not to say that's what we want. We're making progress. Tonight we took a step forward."

Pares, who played all 40 minutes, scored 23 points, including 18 in the second half on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, as Utah State won for the first time in Honolulu.

"I just found myself open a couple of times and I took the shots and they went in," said Pares, a 5-foot-8 senior guard.

She finished 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and just 1 of 9 from 2-point territory with the lone make being a break-away layup with 5:15 left.

"We knew she could shoot it and we had some breakdowns," Bolla said. "We just couldn't get to her. A couple of times we were there, but we didn't put the hand up."

Hawai'i was within 44-43 after a field goal by Megan Tinnin with 1:45 remaining. The Aggies got a field goal by Danyelle Snelgro with 1:18 left and then hit 6 of 6 free-throw attempts over the final 50 seconds, including four from Snelgro.

"The execution in the second half was a big difference for us," said Utah State coach Raegan Pebley. "We needed to be a little more patient waiting for screens and set good screens."

Utah State, which had been 0-3 in previous games here, improved to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. Hawai'i fell to 3-16 and 0-6.

"We have to work hard in practice like these teams we play work," Bolla said. "The second team pushes the first team, and the first team pushes the second team. When we're not working hard in practice and we get in these situations that's where it shows up."

The Rainbow Wahine's point total was their lowest of the season. The previous low was 47 in the season opener against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 14.

Hawai'i averaged 56.6 points per game entering last night.

"We did very well on our rebounding, but our turnovers and missed lay-ups are what hurt us," said Hawai'i's Rebecca Dew, who scored seven of her 11 points from the line.

Hawai'i led by as many as six in the first half before taking a 23-21 lead at the break.

Pares got hot right away, nailing a 3-pointer from the left wing to give Utah State a 24-23 lead 37 seconds into the second half.

She hit three more 3-pointers — all from the left wing — with the final one giving the Aggies a 36-31 advantage with 10:20 left.

"She is such a confident player," Pebley said. "As a coach sitting on the sideline, and you see a player just thrive in her confidence, there is little we have to do. She just operates herself."

Utah State started each half in a man-to-man defense and switched to a 2-3 zone five minutes in.

Hawai'i finished 14 of 56 from the field, including 3 of 18 from 3-point range. It committed 19 turnovers.

"We have worked against zones before and we are confident, but obviously we need to work more on it so that we can win the next time we play them," Dew said.

Dew and the Rainbow Wahine won't have to wait long because a scheduling quirk has the teams playing back-to-back games. The rematch is Friday in Logan, Utah.

The Aggies' zone was effective and also allowed them to save energy against Hawai'i. Utah State beat host San Jose State two nights earlier.

"We gave our man a shot early and decided, especially after playing a game just 48 hours ago, that we'd have to utilize some of our zone," Pebley said.

Tinnin led the Rainbow Wahine with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Tara Hittle grabbed 12 rebounds as Hawai'i held a 41-34 advantage on the boards.

Unlike the previous three games, Bolla didn't implement a 5-for-5 platoon system. Tinnin, Hittle, Catherine Cho, Dita Liepkalne and Keisha Kanekoa started for the Rainbow Wahine, who have used 11 different starting lineups this season.

Bolla used 11 players in the game with each starter going at least 25 minutes.

The longest losing streak in school history is 11, set by Rainbow Wahine teams during the 1979-80 and 1994-95 seasons.