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SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (11-9, 5-3 Big West) came back late and hung on to defeat UC Santa Barbara, 63-60 on Thursday night in the Thunderdome. Hawai'i trailed by five points with five minutes left in the game, but then closed the gap quickly and then held off UCSB to snap the 'Bows two-game losing streak. Hawai`i was perfect at the free throw line late in the game to seal the win, with Kamilah Jackson sinking a pair and Shawna-Lei Kuehu draining four straight to end the game.
 
Three Rainbow Wahine scored in double-figures, led by Kuehu who scored a team-high 15 points. She hit a career-high 9-of-10 from the free throw line to put the game away late. She added six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in her first start back in three games.
 
Jackson fought off foul trouble to score 14 points—10 of which came in the second half. She was an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. She also secured five rebounds with an assist in just 16 minutes of action. It marked the 16th time this season that Jackson has tallied at least 10 points.
 
Destiny King also scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting while grabbing three boards. King played a career-high 37 minutes in the game.
 
Morgan Mason tied her career-high with seven rebounds while scoring four points with two assists.
 
In the first half, the Rainbow Wahine trailed by three points early, but then UH's defense clamped down and held the Gauchos scoreless for over seven minutes, while the 'Bows went on a 13-to-1 run to jump out to a 17-8 lead with 9:42 left in the first half. However UCSB would then turn things around, going on an 11-to-2 run of their own to tie the game at 21-21 with 1:30 left. Hawai`i went into halftime with a slim, 24-23 lead.
 
In the second half, Hawai'i held a tenuous lead for the first six minutes, building a five point lead three time. But UCSB would keep things close and started to chip away to tie the game at 36-36 with 13:56 left in the game.  The Gauchos would hold the lead for the next 11 minutes, but UH remained in striking distance throughout that time. Then with less than three minutes left in the game, Jackson hit back-to-back layups to give the 'Bows a one point lead, 57-56. A minute later, Jackson converted two free throws to give UH a three point lead with 58-seconds left. UCSB's Onome Jemerigbe countered with a layup of her own to bring her team to within one point, 59-58. Kuehu then calmly drilled a pair of free throws to push UH's lead to three again, before Jemerigbe scored another layup. With UH leading 61-60, Kuehu was fouled again, and in her second straight trip to the line, she iced the game with 7-seconds left to give the 'Bows a 63-60 lead and the win.
 
Hawai'i outrebounded their opponents for the 14th time this season, 35-to-25, but the Gauchos outscored the 'Bows in the paint, 28-to-26 and in points off of turnovers, 17-to-14. But Hawai'i's bench once again proved to be clutch, as they outscored UCSB's reserves, 18-to-10. UH shot a season-high 91.7% from the free throw line, going 22-for-24.
 
Hawai'i concludes their 11-day road trip with a rematch of this year's conference opener in Honolulu with Cal Poly. In that game, the Mustangs overcame a 17-point deficit to tie the game at the end of regulation and then pull away for a 78-74 win on Jan. 8. The two teams will square off on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2:00 p.m. at Cal Poly.