The self-described comeback kids made one comeback after another, then needed overtime to pull through in Rainbow Wahine basketball's new era.

Keisha Kanekoa, Leilani Galdones and Rebecca Dew scored 12 points each and Breanna Arbuckle added 11 to help Hawai'i hold off Hawai'i Pacific, 73-70, in an exhibition game last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Mana Hopkins-Vandenakker had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Tiffany Wilson added 10 points for NCAA Division II HPU, which charged at UH and came close to the program's biggest upset.

"Tonight, they came back and they came back," Takahara-Dias said of her players. "They had a lot of heart. Anytime a rally was made, they were in the mix."

The start of Takahara-Dias' first year and the program's new era was witnessed by 1,093, one of the biggest crowds in recent years. The entire coaching staff was adorned in lei before the game and streamers fell from the rafters when the team ran onto the floor.

Kanekoa, a junior point guard, said it was the biggest home crowd she's played in front of during her career.

"It's very exciting to see a crowd that big," she said.

The mood, though, was dramatically different once the game began. HPU brought a man-to-man defense that forced 26 turnovers and brought noise with its fans, band, cheerleaders, dance squad, Sharky the mascot and the Spirit Club — a group of about three dozen students that cheers for the school's athletic teams. The Sea Warriors led by 11 early in the first half and then overcame an 11-point deficit midway through the second.

In the final seconds of regulation, Hopkins-Vandenakker faked on a 3-point attempt from the left, getting the defender off her, then hit a 3 with two seconds remaining in front of her team's bench, sending the game into overtime tied at 62. It capped a 7-0 run in the game's final two minutes and set off a wild frenzy from the HPU contingent.

"When we got down and they stretched it out a little bit, our girls stayed tough and stayed composed," HPU coach Jeff Harada said. "They battled, they didn't give up, they believed they could win."

HPU's Britni Ronolo made an uncontested layup with 21.6 seconds to cut the deficit to 62-59 in regulation.

UH's Shawna Kuehu then threw the ball away on the inbounds pass, and HPU, which went 14-15 last year, burned two timeouts before setting up Hopkins-Vandenakker's basket.

UH, which went 8-23 last year, led 71-64 in overtime after Galdones' basket with 2:17 left.

"We give HPU a lot of credit and Mana hit a big shot," Kanekoa said. "We just had to come out from the get go and jump on them (in overtime). We've been going back and forth, so we had to play with heart."

The Sea Warriors closed to 71-69 after Genesis Lewis' free throw with 46 seconds left. Kuehu's shot then missed everything with 20 seconds to play.

Ronolo made a free throw with 8.2 seconds remaining to make it 71-70.

Kanekoa was fouled with 5.7 seconds left, made two free throws and then stole the ball at midcourt to seal the victory.

HPU, with just one starter over 6 feet to UH's three, outrebounded the Rainbow Wahine 52 to 48. HPU forced 17 turnovers in the first half and trailed 34-32 at halftime after leading 13-2.

Kanekoa's free throw extended Hawai'i's lead to 53-42 with 9:54 left. But HPU quickly got back into the game with a 10-1 run over the next three minutes to close to 54-52 on Hopkins-Vandenakker's baseline jumper with 6:40 left. UH extended its lead to 60-52 before HPU made another push.

HPU's Jazzmin Awa-Williams, a transfer who led Konawaena to two state high school titles, was never a factor. She left in the second half with a possible broken nose. She played just two minutes in the first half after picking up three fouls and got her fourth foul less than a minute into the second half.

Awa-Williams fell to the floor while going for a rebound with 5:34 remaining and was helped off the floor by trainers.

"(She) would've made a huge difference," Harada said. "She's so gifted offensively."

Hawai'i opens its season at UC Riverside on Nov. 17. Its first home game is Nov. 27 against Arizona State.

"We start off the season with a win, that's always wonderful," Takahara-Dias said. "More importantly, it just shows we got some work to do. We'll hit the drawing board again."