Defense, balanced scoring effort help Hawai’i outlast UC Davis

HONOLULU – Six pack. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team kept the good times rolling on Thursday night, using balanced scoring and great defense to upend UC Davis (12-7, 6-3 Big West) inside the Stan Sheriff Center, 56-46. Brooklyn Rewers turned in 12 points and five rebounds to lead the Rainbow Wahine, the fifth time in seven games since the calendar flipped that the senior finished in double figures. 

Lily Wahinekapu and Imani Perez added 11 points each, taking turns dominating the second and third quarters before helping UH hold on in the closing minutes against the Aggies. Jovi Lefotu added nine points and three rebounds off the bench for Hawai’i, hitting a three for the second time in the past three games. 

The victory secured sole possession of the third-best record in conference for Hawai’i (12-6, 6-2 Big West), continuing the Rainbow Wahine’s ascent up the standings after an 0-2 start to Big West play. Hawai’i crushed competition leading up to a massive week of conference matchups, beating all five teams by double figures before welcoming UC Davis into the Stan for the first of two measuring stick games for the Rainbow Wahine. 

“[UC Davis is] a really well-coached and a very, very good team so for the girls to show up and do what they did defensively, I’m super impressed,” said head coach Laura Beeman after the game about her squad. “Offensively, we had our struggles, but we found a way.” 

Wahinekapu started the night on the attack, putting the Rainbow Wahine on the board two possessions into the game with a right-handed scoop layup. UC Davis star Tova Sabel tied it a few minutes later at 2 before the teams traded empty possessions for the next three minutes. 

Ally Fitzgerald ended the scoreless spree with 4:20 left in the first quarter, giving the Aggies their only lead of the night at 4-2 before back-to-back buckets from Brooklyn Rewers quickly pushed the Rainbow Wahine back ahead for good. An Imani Perez 3-pointer helped Hawai’i finish the frame strong, taking a three-point lead after a quarter of play as they held UC Davis to three total makes from the field while forcing six turnovers. 

The second quarter was Wahinekapu’s turn to dominate as she scored seven points in the stanza and connected with her sister Jovi Lefotu to open up a double-digit lead over UCD. After five straight points from Lefotu put UH ahead 24-10, a break in the action helped the visitors recover as they closed the half on an 11-2 run to cut the Rainbow Wahine lead to five. 

Hawai’i saw another player star in the third quarter as Imani Perez tallied eight of her 11 points in the frame with a pair of 3-pointers and the last basket of the quarter to help the Rainbow Wahine inch the lead to eight just before the final 10 minutes. The 6-foot-4 forward continued to show off her growth from behind the arc, hitting a shot from distance for the third straight game and multiple 3-pointers in a game for the fourth time this year. 

The fourth quarter served as a gut check for the feisty Rainbow Wahine, seeing UC Davis work back within a possession with more than six minutes still left to play. Much as the case has been over the past several seasons, it was the senior class that stepped up to the task at hand to help Hawai’i secure a win against the Big West’s best.  

MeiLani McBee, who tied Amy Atwell’s program record of games played in a career on Thursday with her 126th appearance for UH, ripped down a defensive rebound and was intentionally fouled with the lead at four and split the free throws after taking a scary fall. Brooklyn Rewers drained another deep 3-pointer to give the Rainbow Wahine a six-point lead heading into the final media timeout of the night. 

Still, the Aggies would not relent as Victoria Baker’s steal and score with just under three minutes to play brought the game within two. Again, Hawai’i’s veteran leadership responded as a cutting McBee finished a layup through contact and hit the free throw on the next possession and Wahinekapu drew a charge to give UH control leading 51-46 with 2:09 remaining in regulation. 

The Hawai’i defense turned up to another level over the waning minutes of the contest, suffocating the Aggies and denying Sabel’s driving layup attempt with less than 40 seconds left to crush the comeback hopes of UC Davis. The sisters closed out the win at the free throw line for Hawai’i, helping the Rainbow Wahine keep the winning ways working against one of the conference’s elites, 56-46. 

Star UC Davis guard Tova Sabel finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, missing all six of her attempts from distance as the Aggies shot just 1-of-21 from 3-point range as a team. Ryann Bennett was the only other UCD player in double figures, adding 10 points off the bench in the loss. 

Hawai’i will wrap up the biggest week of conference games so far this season on Saturday when they host conference-leading UC Irvine for “Beeman’s Bigger Bash” as last year’s Big West tournament champions visit the Big West regular season champions with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. HT. Fans are encouraged to come out and support as the Rainbow Wahine attempt to continue the longest win streak of this season in front of what hopes to be a record-breaking crowd. 

The UH women’s basketball program attendance record is 6,192 people, set in 1998. Last season, Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine basketball fans set a new Beeman-era record of 5,068 people for “Beeman’s Big Bash” against UC Santa Barbara.