All the huge grins and feel-good moments lasted late into the Southern California night after Rainbow Wahine basketball's season-opening win at UC Riverside Tuesday.

But a backhanded compliment might have captured the magnitude of Hawai'i's accomplishment best.

Riverside coach John Margaritis, who has transformed the Highlanders from pushovers to Big West powers in his first five years, was asked if losing wasn't just "part of the process" for a team trying to replace five starters.

"There's some games you need to win in the process," the soft-spoken, extremely analytical Margaritis said. "Not taking anything away from Hawai'i, but compared to the rest of our schedule, if we're going to win any games we'd better have this game in the 'W' column."

Surprise! For one game at least — and Dana Takahara-Dias' collegiate coaching debut at that — the Rainbow Wahine outran also-ran status. They ran down Riverside in the process, with a composed, calculated game-long rally that culminated in a 16-6 surge and 63-58 win.

Margaritis and Takahara stood toe-to-toe —separated by the scoring table —the entire game, totally engaged and energized. They were encouraging, advising, adjusting. There was never a negative word or gesture, or a clipboard planted in anger.

The game could be very different when the 'Bows play UCLA — picked fourth in the Pac-10 —at Pauley Pavilion tonight, but there is little doubt Takahara will be precisely the same.

"What attracted me to Dana was her work ethic, she is extremely involved," said UH athletic director Jim Donovan, who flew in for the opener and tonight's game, before heading to San Jose for football Saturday. "And she definitely buys into the 'ohana environment, which I'm trying hard to develop. She's selfless and also has a lot of pride and grace, and she played for UH. I knew she had good coaching skills because I saw what she did with Team Aloha."

That all-star team was Takahara's only coaching experience since 2000, her final year at Moanalua High School. It struck her, after her team's shaky showing in an exhibition against Hawai'i Pacific two weeks ago, that "collectively, as a staff, it's been a long hiatus for us."

It also struck her that Hawai'i's defense was dragging. That was the focus in the interim. Tuesday, after the Highlanders hit several wide-open looks from outside the arc, the Rainbows switched out of their zone and Riverside never had another uncontested shot. UH also cleaned up what its coach characterizes as a "gambling" attack, cutting its turnovers by half the second half.

Takahara utilized 11 players extensively, letting them go all-out in four-minute bursts. Non-starters scored more than half Hawai'i's points. The blast that finally blew the 'Bows by UCR began with five reserves.

"At the end, the team was just coming together as one the last four minutes, knowing we were down," said freshman Shawna Kuehu, the Punahou graduate playing her first game in 20 months. "Trust came."

UCR, hampered by injuries, academic problems and inexperience, ran out of gas. The Rainbow Wahine, six weeks into Takahara's "philosophy," were already believers.

"What I took from the game is that this team really believed," Takahara said. "There was not one moment where they even second-guessed that they could win. This team has a lot of faith in each other and they know they can win. That's half the battle."

Donovan told Takahara when he hired her that he didn't care what her record was the first year, "just teach them how to work hard and play as a team, bring them together." Next year, he wants to at least win a game in the WAC Tournament. He wants them to be a contender by the third year.

"That's the building process I see for this team," he said Tuesday. "I was smiling early (Tuesday) because I thought a lot of what I asked for the first year I saw in the first half.

"They played really well as a team and gave a great effort. There is talent on that team, but in the past I've seen them play as individuals. I wanted to see them come together and help each other out."

The AD went into the locker room after the game to tell the team how proud he was. They tried to leverage his praise for a steak and lobster dinner but had to settle for dessert.

After a time of turmoil, these players deserve something sweet.

Tonight it starts all over again. The second part of this year's "New Beginning" motto is "no looking back."

"On this team, we don't look back," Takahara said. "The greatest asset of this team is that it starts fresh and new. And that's exactly what they've done on a full scale."

This season-opening road trip ends Saturday at Cal State Bakersfield. The 'Bows' home opener is Nov. 27 against Arizona State, in the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic.