Perez season-high helps Hawai’i continue winning ways over Cal State Fullerton

HONOLULU – Slow start, slow finish, still won. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team shook off an awful offensive first quarter and held off a rally late to extend its win streak to three, taking down Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night, 54-44. The victory marked the 11th straight meeting between UH and CSUF that went in favor of the Rainbow Wahine, last falling to the Titans in February 2020. 

Imani Perez tallied a season-best 14 points while tracking down four rebounds and blocking a pair of shots to help Hawai’i overcome 20 turnovers and an icy 3-of-19 team shooting performance from behind the arc. Jovi Lefotu, continuing to ramp back up after missing three games with an injury, added eight points while handing out a career-high five assists off the bench. 

MeiLani McBee was the only other Rainbow Wahine player to finish in double figures, racking up 10 points and grabbing a team-high six rebounds while making at least two three-pointers for the third straight game. Hawai’i is 6-2 this season when McBee makes multiple threes and are 3-4 when she connects on one or less. 

Hawai’i (9-6, 3-2 Big West) struggled mightily out of the gate, turning the ball over five times while failing to connect on a shot of any kind over the opening five and a half minutes as they fell behind 4-0. Lily Wahinekapu finally got UH on the board with 4:36 left in the first quarter with a pair of free throws and Jovi Lefotu made the Rainbow Wahine’s first field goal with just over a minute remaining to tie the game, 4-4. Cal State Fullerton (2-14, 0-6 Big West) ended a three-minute scoring drought of their own on the other side to take a slim two-point lead into the second quarter. 

The next frame proved better for the hosting Rainbow Wahine, needing 93 seconds to out-produce the offense from the first 10 minutes as Perez, Wahinekapu and McBee all scored in succession – capped by a triple by McBee – to give Hawai’i an 11-6 lead in the blink of an eye. Mia ‘Uhila split a pair of free throws and got a layup to drop with the shot clock winding down before McBee drilled her second three-pointer of the night to make the UH advantage nine points with just under four minutes left in the opening half. 

Aaliyah Stanton and UH freshman Rebecca Moors traded triples before Stanton cashed in on a trip to the charity stripe to pull the Titans within seven with just over a minute before the break. Again, ‘Uhila beat the shot clock buzzer with a hit from inside the arc to send the Rainbow Wahine into the locker rooms leading by nine, 22-13. 

The momentum rolled through halftime and into the third quarter for Hawai’i, opening the second half on a 10-2 run on the back of six points from Perez as the lead grew to 17 by the six-minute mark of the frame. The Titans chipped into the Rainbow Wahine lead with back-to-back scores from Eva Levingston and Maddy Tauro after a timeout, holding UH without a point for over four minutes before allowing Moors and McBee layups ahead of the quarter buzzer sounding, heading into the fourth quarter with Hawai’i comfortably ahead, 36-19.  

Hawai’i scored the first four points of the final frame to go up by 21 before a 14-5 run by Cal State Fullerton made things interesting late. Madalyn Muniz drilled a pair of triples before Stanton’s three with 2:49 to play made it a 12-point game and prompted a timeout from the Rainbow Wahine. 

Quality foul shooting and press-break execution down the stretch secured the victory for Hawai’i despite Cal State Fullerton’s furious comeback try. The Titans’ 25 fourth quarter points outscored the previous three quarters combined for the visitors as they connected on 4-of-7 from downtown and got to the line 10 times, getting the deficit as close as nine in the final minute before falling for the sixth time in conference play. 

“We’re still trying to find footing just with the injuries and trying to figure out rotations, so not a very pretty game, particularly that fourth quarter,” Hawai’i head coach Laura Beeman said postgame. “Giving up 25 points is really not acceptable for our defense … with all of that said, we found a way to win which is nice.” 

Aaliyah Stanton finished with a game-high 18 points (13 in 4th Q) and grabbed five rebounds before fouling out for Cal State Fullerton. Eva Levingston added nine points and five rebounds, committing three turnovers in 38 minutes – the most minutes by a player on either team. 

Mia ‘Uhila and Lily Wahinekapu each scored seven points in the win for Hawai’i but struggled with ball control, accounting for eight of UH’s 20 turnovers. Brooklyn Rewers and Ritorya Tamilo each saw limited opportunities, combining for three points and four total field goal attempts as the guards struggled to get the ball to the post in time consistently. 

“I felt like we need to go inside a lot more than we did tonight, we’re struggling with that,” Beeman said of the lack of production from Hawai’i’s center position. 

Hawai’i freshman Rebecca Moors matched a season high with five points (1-2 3PT) while snatching a career-best five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. It was the fifth straight game that the guard from New Zealand played 15 or more minutes for the Rainbow Wahine as the talented first-year class continued to show growth for UH. 

“I think our freshmen have done a great job coming in with a veteran team and understanding that the expectation may not be to get on the floor but just to grow and get better. When your number is called, step up,” Beeman said of Moors’ growth. “She’s a long, long guard for us so she can defend, she can board, she runs the floor very, very well… I think the physicality and pace is still a challenge for her sometimes, but I think she’ll continue to grow.” 

After an 0-2 start to conference play, Hawai’i has moved into a tie for the fourth spot after three straight Big West wins. The Rainbow Wahine hit the road again next week to face off with CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield before returning to the islands for a massive two-game homestand against UC Davis and UC Irvine on January 23 and 25.