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LONG BEACH, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team captured its first conference title since 1998 after rallying past Long Beach State, 47-46 Thursday at The Pyramid.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (20-7, 12-2 BWC) extended their win streak to 12 games and coupled with a UC Davis loss, clinched the outright conference title and No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament.  The 'Bows also reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2001-02 squad went 23-8.
 
Regardless of the outcome of the team's remaining games, UH is assured of a postseason berth by virtue of winning the regular season. The Rainbow Wahine qualified for the Women's NIT in each of head coach Laura Beeman's first two seasons.
 
Shawna-Lei Kuehu led Hawai'i with 16 points and in the process, moved into 10^th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,187. The senior also had eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals.  Fellow senior Ashleigh Karaitiana had a game-high 13 rebounds to help the Rainbow Wahine dominate the boards, 44-27.
 
UH last won a share of a conference title during the 1997-98 season when the Rainbow Wahine captured the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 13-1 record. Prior to that, Hawai'i won back-to-back Big West titles in 1992-93 and '93-94.
 
But the title wasn't assured until the final play of the game when the Beach failed to get a shot off. The Rainbow Wahine used an 8-0 run during a two-minute stretch late in the second half to take a 41-37 lead.  LBSU cut the deficit to one on three separate occasions but could not retake the lead.
 
Destiny King's mid-range jumper gave UH its final points and put the Rainbow Wahine on top 47-44 with 3:01 left. Hallie Meneses' lay-up with :33 left pulled the 49ers to within one but LBSU declined to foul and let the Rainbow Wahine run out the shot clock with 2.4 seconds remaining in the game. After a pair of timeouts, the Beach took the inbounds pass at midcourt but could not get a shot off.
 
The first half was played at a slow and sloppy pace. The Beach led 22-19 at the break despite the Rainbow Wahine holding a 25-15 rebounding edge. LBSU connected on four 3-pointers while UH was 0-for-7 from behind the arc.
 
Hawai'i returns to southern California for a single road game at UC Santa Barbara, March 5 before closing out the regular season against Cal State Fullerton, March 7 at the Stan Sheriff Center.