SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. – The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team couldn't find their rhythm in a 65-51 loss to UC Santa Barbara in the Thunderdome Thursday night.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (7-8, 3-2) road woes continue as they fell to 1-5 away from the island of O'ahu. The Gauchos (9-6, 4-3) have won back-to-back games will go on the road next week to battle UC Irvine.
 
The 'Bows struggled in the first quarter shooting 2-of-13 from the field and were down 15-5 heading into the second quarter. The second frame began with Santa Barbara extending their lead to 13 points, but with six minutes left, Gauchos guard Danae Miller sustained an injury that seemed to flip the momentum. UH closed the gap and finished on a 10-3 run, bringing the game within one possession, and headed into the locker room down 26-24.
 
The battle continued in the third quarter with the two squads trading buckets, as UCSB gained a slight advantage, going up six heading into the fourth frame. UH could not find an answer as Santa Barbara pulled away and put the game out of reach.
 
UH found production from the bench as freshman forward Jacque David posted a new career-high 11 points in 23 minutes. Joining David from the pine was freshman forward Daejah Phillips as she tallied 10 points from the bench, marking her fourth straight game of double-digit points.
 
When they mattered throughout, the Gauchos hit shots, finishing at 51% from the floor, compared to UH shooting 32%. A positive for 'Bows was their ability to limit turnovers, finishing with a season-low 10  as UCSB only scored five points off the UH miscues.
 
The 'Bows head to CSUN for a matchup on Saturday, slated to begin at noon HT.