Sweet shooting, dizzying defense help Hawai’i to big win at CSUN

Stretch the floor and deny them more. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team used scorching hot first half shooting and elite defense to get snag a fourth straight victory on Thursday evening, cruising to a comfortable 75-47 road win over Cal State Northridge. Junior forward Imani Perez turned in a season-highs for the second consecutive game, posting 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks while knocking down two three-pointers in 25 minutes of work as the Rainbow Wahine secured head coach Laura Beeman’s 600th career victory in her 27th season coaching college basketball. 

Beeman spent the first 15 years of her head coaching career as the lead woman at Mt. San Antonio College (CA), accumulating 390 victories and 10 conference championships in her time before coming to the islands. The coach won her 200th game at the University of Hawai’i last season against CSU Bakersfield, Saturday’s opponent for UH, as the Rainbow Wahine clinched the 2023-24 regular season Big West title and has the second-most victories by a Hawai’i WBB head coach ever (Vince Goo, 334).

Four different Rainbow Wahine finished in double figures, seeing seniors Lily Wahinekapu and Brooklyn Rewers each end the day with 13 points while freshman Ritorya Tamilo recorded her first double-digit point game in over a month as the 6-foot-5 center showed off some range herself with a sagging defensive scheme from CSUN.

Mia ‘Uhila filled up the box score with eight points, eight rebounds and a season-best seven assists off the bench as the transfer from Portland State continued to cling to a major reserve role. Jovi Lefotu added five points and a pair of assists in 15 minutes while Kelsie Imai made her return after a six-game absence due to an injury suffered late in the Hawai’i win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 

The Rainbow Wahine defense played a key role in the blowout win, holding CSUN to an ice-cold 27.6% from the floor (16-58 FG) while Hawai’i registered the team’s highest scoring output this year with 75 points, surpassing the 72 that UH tallied against Portland State in the second game of the season.  

Hawai’i (10-6, 4-2 Big West) found the shooting touch early with three of the first four made shots coming from behind the arc, including Tamilo’s first career three-pointer to give the Rainbow Wahine an 11-4 lead with 4:58 left to play in the opening frame. The advantage grew to as many as 12 after Rewers hit her only three of the game and followed with a strong finish inside, but the Matadors (3-13, 1-6 Big West) would score 10 of the final 13 points in the frame to head into the second quarter only trailing by a handful. 

Perez and Wahinekapu took turns tormenting the Matadors’ defense in the second quarter, each scoring 10 points in the frame as Hawai’i opened up a 21-point lead by the break. The Rainbow Wahine hit eight total three-pointers over the game’s first 20 minutes, four coming from players standing at 6-foot-4 or taller, and held CSUN to a 9-of-32 shooting performance.  

The offense cooled off in the second half for Hawai’i, failing to connect on a three-pointer in the third quarter as all eight tries ricocheted off the rim. The defense continued to hold its first-half form, silencing the CSUN offense outside of a few three-pointers in the third quarter as the Rainbow Wahine took a 25-point advantage into the final 10 minutes. 

The fourth quarter provide opportunities for multiple players to get some run in, including Kalani alum and former walk-on Hallie Birdsong who hit her first career three-pointer from the right corner – the only make for Hawai’i from behind the arc after halftime. Hawai’i led by as many as 30 before finally pulling the foot off the gas late, moving to .500 on the road this season and going two games above the waterline in conference play. 

Thursday was the fourth consecutive game that Hawai’i has held its opponents at 50 points or below and seventh overall. The Rainbow Wahine are a perfect 7-0 so far in those games this season. It also was the fourth straight time that UH won the rebounding battle, an area of importance for a Laura Beeman squad who is 1-6 when losing the fight on the glass this year. 

Erika Aspajo paced the Matadors with 14 points and five assists while Morgan Edwards was the only other CSUN player in double digits with her 10 points and four rebounds. Former Hawai’i forward Nnenna Orji racked up five points and four steals against her former team, dealing with foul woes throughout the contest. 

Hawai’i will look to make it five wins in a row on Saturday when the road trip takes a turn to Cal State Bakersfield, a program that the Rainbow Wahine have won nine consecutive meetings against dating back to March of 2021. Tip-off is scheduled for noon HT and can be watched on ESPN+.