Hawai’i falls late at San Diego State as offense goes cold

That’s all for the non-conference. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team watched a five-point halftime lead disappear late Saturday afternoon against San Diego State, seeing Veronica Sheffey’s layup with eight seconds left prove to be the difference for the Aztecs as they beat the Rainbow Wahine in the final game of the San Diego Classic, 54-52. SDSU freshman guard Naomi Panganiban led all scorers with 24 points, carrying an otherwise lifeless Aztecs offense to secure a split on the weekend for the hosts. 

Daejah Phillips led the effort for Hawai’i (6-5), scoring 11 points in 22 minutes off the bench before fouling out in her second game back from an injury she suffered against Long Beach State on December 7. Brooklyn Rewers finished with 10 points and four rebounds off the bench in the loss, her third straight game in double figures for the Rainbow Wahine. 

Dealing with a variety of injuries to backcourt players, Hawai’i head coach Laura Beeman gave Jade Peacock the chance to step into the first five as the Rainbow Wahine used the sixth different starting lineup combination in the first 11 games of the year. Jovi Lefotu and Kelsie Imai each missed their second consecutive game after each getting injured late in Hawai’i’s blowout win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 

Hawai’i jumped out to an 8-6 lead behind the strength of its size, seeing Ritorya Tamilo, Imani Perez and Brookyln Rewers scored all eight points for the Rainbow Wahine. Panganiban exited the first media timeout laser focused for San Diego State, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the quarter for the Aztecs (11-2) to help the hosts take a four-point lead into the second period, 18-14. 

SDSU hit four three-pointers in the first 10 minutes, forcing five turnovers while holding Hawai’i without a make from distance to begin the game. The Rainbow Wahine hit on 6-of-12 shots in the first quarter but struggled to defend without fouling, getting called for four fouls in the frame. 

The defense for Hawai’i clicked back into the elite gear in the second, holding San Diego State to seven points as the Aztecs went nearly six minutes without scoring during the frame. UH started to find the feeling from long range as Lily Wahinekapu drilled a three-pointer for a one-point Hawai’i lead with 6:06 left to play in the first half. Rewers added another bucket after the media timeout to cap a 10-0 run by the Rainbow Wahine before Panganiban ended the scoring drought for the Aztecs with a jumper of her own with 2:56 left before half to make it a 24-23 game. 

A 6-2 run over the final 90 seconds by Hawai’i gave the visitors a five-point lead at the break, led by Rewers’ 10 points and Daejah Phillips’ seven points as the bench powered the second quarter effort. After some sweet distance shooting in the opening frame by the Aztecs, the tournament hosts hit only one from deep in the second period while the UH defense suffocated the Mountain West contender. 

A three-point play to begin the scoring in the third quarter by Ritorya Tamilo gave Hawai’i its biggest lead of the afternoon at eight, but an elbow by Tamilo to the face of a defender awarded a pair of free throws and the ball to SDSU afterwards. The sides traded stops and baskets until Panganiban drilled her third three with 1:09 left in the quarter to help send the Aztecs into the fourth trailing by only four, 42-38. 

SDSU saw an advantage on the glass in the third, helping offset a 5-of-16 shooting performance to pull within less than a handful before the final 10 minutes. Adryanna Quezada added another scoring punch for the Aztecs in the period, chipping in six points along with four rebounds (2 OREB) to keep the hosts lurking with plenty of time left. 

Daejah Phillips started the final frame with short turnaround to give the Rainbow Wahine a six-point advantage, but SDSU quickly rattled off a 7-0 run to take back the lead as Panganiban connected for her fourth three-pointer and a 45-44 lead with 5:57 left to play. Lily Wahinekapu would drill a three just over a minute later to tie the game at 49 before three straight makes at the charity stripe by the Aztecs made it 52-49 with 1:43 remaining. 

After forcing a shot clock violation and taking a quick 30-second timeout, Hawai’i went to Imani Perez, who was fouled on a driving layup that dropped in off the glass with 37 seconds to play. The junior forward netted the free throw after to tie the game at 52 and leave enough time for the Rainbow Wahine to get the ball back regardless of a make or miss by San Diego State. 

The Aztecs drained the clock down all the way, needing to get a shot off before Veronica Sheffey broke free on a cut with moments left on the shot clock and put in the go-ahead layup with eight seconds left. Down two, Hawai’i called its final timeout to draw up a look that got McBee open in the left corner, but her try sailed long and Ritorya Tamilo’s putback bounced off the mark as the buzzer sounded to close the heartbreaking 54-52 loss. 

Lily Wahinekapu and MeiLani McBee each chipped in eight points for Hawai’i, who will head into conference play one game above .500 after a challenging non-conference schedule that was made even more strenuous by a variety of injuries. Freshman center Ritorya Tamilo finished with a season-low five points on 2-of-4 shooting in 20 minutes, recording a block for the seventh time in her 10 games played. 

Hawai’i will return to action in the new year, visiting UC Santa Barbara on January 2 for the third game of a four-game road trip as Big West play begins for the Rainbow Wahine. It will be the third time this season that Hawai’i will have a week or longer off between contests.