SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A tight battle slipped away from the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team in the final seconds and the Rainbow Wahine closed nonconference play with a 54-52 loss to San Diego State on Saturday in the finale of the San Diego Classic.
After UH's
Imani Perez converted a three-point play to tie the game with 37 seconds left, SDSU's Veronica Sheffey scored on a cut to the basket with 8.9 seconds showing on the clock. Following a timeout, a UH 3-point attempt and putback both bounced off the rim to seal the outcome at SDSU's Viejas Arena.
The 'Bows closed the nonconference portion of the season at 6-5 heading into the holiday season break. They'll resume Big West play on Jan. 2 at UC Santa Barbara.
Daejah Phillips led UH with 11 points off the bench before fouling out aith 1:43 left.
Brooklyn Rewers sparked the 'Bows early with 10 points in the first half and scored in double-figures for the third straight game.
Lily Wahinekapu and
MeiLani McBee both hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points each. Wahinekapu also dished out a season-high six assists.
UH shot 45.2% from the field to SDSU's 33.3%, but the Aztecs rallied to the win behind freshman Naomi Panganiban's game-high 24 points. Panganiban had four 3-pointers among her nine made field goals while the rest of the SDSU roster accounted for 10 field goals.
Imani Perez connected on the first shot of the game while the Aztecs started 0 for 6 from the field before Nat Martinez connected on a 3-pointer. SDSU took an 18-14 lead into the second quarter and Kaelyn Hamilton hit a 3-pointer early in the period to extend the lead to seven.
The 'Bows then shifted the momentum with a 10-0 run to take the lead and Wahinekapu drained UH's lone 3-pointer of the half to push UH ahead 22-21. UH closed the half with Mia 'Uhilia finding Rewers for a layup at the buzzer to send the 'Bows into halftime with a 30-25 lead.
McBee hit back-to-back 3-pointer to give UH a 52-35 lead late in the third quarter and Panganiban answered from long range to cut the margin to four heading into the fourth quarter.
Phillips opened the scoring in the final period, but SDSU put together a 7-0 run to take a 45-44 lead on another 3-pointer by Panganiban. UH took its final lead at 46-45 on two Wahinekapu free throws with 5:37 left. SDSU edged ahead again at 49-46 but left Wahinekapu open at the top for a 3-pointer to tie the game again.
The Aztecs reclaimed the lead from the free-throw line and led 52-49 when Perez drove into the lane and flipped in a shot while drawing a foul. She then drained the free throw to knot the score at 52-52 with 37 seconds remaining. SDSU ran the clock down and Adryana Quezada found Sheffey cutting to the basket for the go-ahead layup and UH's final possession came up short.
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