Turnovers tank Hawai’i against balanced UC San Diego squad

HONOLULU – New year, same problems.

A talented-but-young University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team turned the ball over 24 more times on Saturday night, falling 65-54 to UC San Diego (8-3, 3-0 Big West) inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to drop to 0-4 to start Big West play for the first time in head coach Laura Beeman’s 14-year tenure.

Freshman Keiara Curtis made her first collegiate start as UH deployed the fifth different starting five combination in 14 contests, scoring in double figures for the fourth straight game as she led the team with 13 points in 30 minutes of action. The 5-foot-8 guard also grabbed five rebounds to go along with a steal, an assist and a block while turning it over four times in the loss.

Fellow freshman Bailey Flavell added 12 points and seven rebounds while committing six turnovers, struggling to 1-of-9 shooting from the floor after a hot first quarter saw her hit 3-of-4 to begin the game. Senior forward Saniyah Neverson was the third and final Rainbow Wahine to finish in double figures, chipping in 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting to go along with a pair of blocks.

Hawai’i (6-8, 0-4 Big West) raced out of the gates behind quick decision making and the scoring efforts of Flavell and Neverson, who combined to score 11 of UH’s first 14 points in the opening six minutes to give the hosts a 6-point lead with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter.

The rollercoaster Rainbow Wahine hit the downturn to close the period, going the final 3:41 without another made field goal as two Keiara Curtis free throws were the lone points to help the hosts maintain a 3-point lead heading into the second frame.

Curtis drilled a triple to open play in the second quarter to give a 19-13 advantage to Hawai’i, matching the largest lead of the night for the Rainbow Wahine before UC San Diego turned on the magnets from distance. The Tritons connected on 4-of-7 tries from long range in the frame, vaulting ahead 35-29 by halftime behind the hot hand of guard Lev Feiman, who scored all 10 of her points in the second period.

“The same thing happened against [UC Riverside], we had a bad second quarter,” UH head coach Laura Beeman said postgame. “Teams are coming out, we play the first quarter, they come in after the [quarter] break and there are adjustments that are made, which is blow up [our] stuff. We know it’s coming, we say they’re going to blow up our stuff … and then the pressure gets us and we either forget what we’re doing, or we just turn the ball over.”

Hawai’i committed 11 turnovers in the first half, leading directly to 12 points for UC San Diego.

A pair of Neverson buckets opened the third quarter for the Rainbow Wahine, but the Tritons countered with a couple of 3-pointers as Erin Condron and Rosa Smith helped power the visitors to a 13-point lead with 3:39 to go in the period. An 8-0 run by Hawai’i, capped off by Flavell’s second 3-pointer of the night, pulled the hosts within a handful with under a minute left in the frame, but Sabrina Ma drained a three of her own just before the buzzer to send UCSD into the final 10 minutes leading by eight.

The defensive breakdown to end the quarter was a frustrating one for UH, who had seemingly snagged back the momentum before the Ma triple.

“One of the rules that we have is we are not coming off a strong side shooter when they’re a good shooter, and that’s one of the best shooters on their team,” Beeman said when asked about the final play of the third quarter. “Those are the things I become impatient about, and it’s not towards one individual player. That is the growth that has to happen … We led the nation in [multiple] defensive statistical categories last year. What we teach works, but you have to do it – and that’s something that my patience will grow weary with.”

Despite the defensive breakdowns and turnover woes, Hawai’i fought back within four through the opening few minutes of the fourth quarter as Imani Perez, Neverson and Flavell each netted buckets. The defense turned up the pressure as well, blocking a pair of shots and forcing a turnover by UCSD to make it 51-47 with 6:21 left to play.

The offensive attack ended there for Hawai’i, who made 2-of-9 from the field and turned it over three more times over the final six minutes of regulation as UC San Diego knocked down 9-of-12 from the charity stripe in the final frame to cap off a 65-54 decision over the Rainbow Wahine.

Erin Condron led the way with 16 points for the Tritons, who had four different players finish in double figures in the win. Rosa Smith added 14 points before fouling out while Sabrina Ma tacked on 13 points with three made 3-pointers and Lev Feiman chipped in her 10 points in the second quarter.

Imani Perez finished with nine points, four rebounds and five blocked shots as she eclipsed 100 career rejections with UH. The senior forward became the eighth player in program history to pass the century mark for blocks and the first since Shawna Lei-Kuehu (125 blocks, 6^th all-time) joined the club during the 2014-15 season.

“She buys into the process,” Beeman said proudly of her defensive captain.

Hawai’i totaled 10 blocks as a team and beat the Tritons in the rebounding battle, 38-28, in the loss. After allowing 12 points on 11 turnovers in the first half, the Rainbow Wahine limited UCSD to four points off turnovers despite committing 13 giveaways after halftime.

“I thought we got better tonight,” Beeman reflected. “It’s not the outcome that we wanted, but we got better in a few different areas. The Achilles’ heel is the turnovers and that’s going to continue to happen until we really understand how important it is to value the ball.”

Despite the result, the head coach spoke about the resilience of her squad through a difficult stretch to begin conference play and gave her vote of confidence that the Rainbow Wahine would be better in the long run after experiencing different adversities.

“We’re going to continue to fight. I do not think we will be the same team two weeks from today, we’ll be better,” Beeman stated.

Hawai’i’s tough schedule continues next with a road date against Big West-leading UC Irvine on Saturday, January 10 with tip-off scheduled for noon HT. The Anteaters are 4-0 to begin conference play and 13-2 overall after dispatching Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, 64-51.