Hawai’i collapses late in Big West opener against UC Davis

The growing pains continue.

After an 0-3 showing against a loaded American Savings Bank Rainbow Wahine Showdown field that included nearly 60 turnovers over three days, the youthful University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team was taught another lesson to begin Big West play on Thursday night.

Hitting the road for the first time this season, the Rainbow Wahine looked strong before collapsing against rival UC Davis (7-2, 1-0 Big West) down the stretch, 68-63. The Aggies ripped off an 18-0 run over the final 4:17 of regulation, erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to deal a fourth straight loss to UH.

UC Davis center Megan Norris poured in a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds while guard Ryann Bennett added 16 points and three assists in the comeback by the Aggies.

Freshman guard Bailey Flavell led the way for Hawai’i with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting (4-of-7 3PT), scoring 12 of the 22 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Flavell also had a season-high nine turnovers while the Rainbow Wahine committed 25 giveaways as a group.

Hawai’i forward Saniyah Neverson chipped in a season-best 17 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. The senior also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in 30 minutes of work.

Both teams started out hot in the opening quarter, seeing the Aggies shoot 60% from the field and take advantage of six UH turnovers to grab a 20-15 lead through 10 minutes. Redshirt junior guard Jovi Lefotu made her season debut for the Rainbow Wahine to close the quarter, knocking down a 3-pointer in a quick three-minute stretch of action.

UH returned fire to open the second period, making six of their first eight shots from the field to go up two with under five minutes left in the first half. Neverson drilled the first of her two 3-pointers to close the quarter, helping counter a couple buckets by the Aggies to send the Rainbow Wahine into the locker rooms still leading by a pair.

Neverson and Flavell continued cooking into the second half, each knocking down another triple when play resumed in the third quarter to put the Rainbow Wahine up 43-36 and force a timeout by the Aggies with 5:43 left in the frame. Rebecca Moors’ lone triple of the game pushed the UH lead into double digits, but UC Davis closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to go into the fourth trailing by four.

Hawai’i opened up a 12-point lead quickly into the final frame as Flavell scored eight straight to begin the quarter. Saniyah Neverson’s final layup of the game with 6:02 left was also UH’s final made field goal of the evening, giving the Rainbow Wahine a 61-47 advantage and forcing a timeout from the Aggies.

Following the break in the action, UC Davis unleashed a 21-2 avalanche to close the game as the Rainbow Wahine missed each of their final six FG attempts and turned the ball over six more times in the final six minutes to fall to the Aggies, 68-63.

Guard Nya Epps cut the onions late, drilling back-to-back threes to give the Aggies the lead for good with 1:11 to play as she scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in total for the hosts in the comeback.

Hawai’i (4-4, 0-1 Big West) turns around and faces off against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 11 a.m. HT to wrap up Bold Week, looking to salvage a split on the first road trip of the year. The Titans dominated Cal Poly on Thursday, ripping off a 96-64 victory on the road.