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Daejah Phillips dribble
61
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 7-13,3-7 Big West
66
Winner Hawaii Hawaii 11-8,8-2 Big West
Cal St. Fullerton CSF
7-13,3-7 Big West
61
Final
66
Hawaii Hawaii
11-8,8-2 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 16 9 19 17 61
Hawaii Hawaii 11 11 23 21 66

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Phillips Helps Hawaii Get Past Cal State Fullerton, 66-61

HONOLULU — Shorthanded and undersized for much of the night, the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team found a way to grind out a 66-61 victory in a duel with Cal State Fullerton on Thursday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

UH (11-8, 8-2 Big West) ultimately rode the shoulders of guard Daejah Phillips who caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of her season-high 22 points in the final period. Phillips finished the game 9-of-16 from the field and carried the Rainbow Wahine down the stretch when she scored seven straight points to help UH shake off the Titans (7-13, 3-7).

The week began with a three-way tie for first place with Hawai'i, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. UH's win and UCSB's loss to UC Davis on Thursday sets up a matchup of the Big West's co-leaders on Saturday when the Rainbow Wahine host UC Irvine. 

Phillips' heroics were enough to counter a career night by her counterpart, Cal State Fullerton forward Ashlee Lewis, who led the Titans with 25 points (10-of-12 FG) and 13 rebounds. 

Limited by foul trouble in the first half, UH guard Lily Wahinekapu scored eight of her 14 points in the third quarter, while MeiLani McBee finished with 11 points, including four free throws in the waning seconds to seal UH's 10th consecutive win in the series with Cal State Fullerton. 
 
With forward Imani Perez and center Brooklyn Rewers not available for the game, junior Jacque David made her first start of the season and promptly hit a 3-pointer on UH's first possession of the game. Cal State Fullerton responded with a 11-0 run with two 3-pointers before Wahinekapu banked in a short jumper to trigger an 8-2 UH run. Cal State Fullerton's Hope Hassmann hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Titans a 16-11 lead at the quarter break.
 
Wahinekapu went to the bench after picking up two fouls in the first quarter and the teams traded turnovers early in the second quarter before UH caught the Titans at 18-18 on a McBee 3-pointer. Hassmann's jumper with 13 seconds left in the period sent Cal State Fullerton into halftime with a 25-22 lead.
 
Cal State Fullerton hit four 3-pointers in the first half while UH went 2 for 13 from long range and shot 32 percent from the field overall.
 
David knocked down her second 3-pointer to open the third quarter to tie the game but Cal State Fullerton went on a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead. Wahinekapu ended the Titans' run and went on a personal 6-0 run, converting a steal into a layup and driving in for another bucket to tie it up again at 33-33.
 
UH took its first lead since the first minute of the game when Wahinekapu found Phillips for a corner three to push UH ahead 43-42 with 1:06 left in the third quarter. The 'Bows took a 45-44 lead into the final period and Phillips took over with six points in an 8-0 run that gave UH a 57-51 lead with 3:20 left. Cal State Fullerton made another push and closed to 59-58 with less than a minute left. Wahinekapu missed two free throws, but Phillips drew a foul while going for the rebound and made one of two free throws to give UH a 60-58 lead with 24.3 seconds left.
 
The Titans made one of two from the foul line on the other end and UH freshman Vivienne Berrett grabbed the rebound with UH still up a point. Wahinekapu went to the free-throw line again and this time rattled in both shots to give the 'Bows a three-point lead. Cal State Fullerton missed a 3-pointer and McBee grabbed the rebound and made two more free throws, before adding two more in the final seconds to account for the final margin.

The Rainbow Wahine close the homestand on Saturday against UC Irvine at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. UC Irvine improved to 8-2 in the conference when Cal Poly canceled Thursday's game due to illnesses within the Mustangs program, resulting in a forfeit.
 
UH will celebrate Black History Month with a special presentation at halftime of Saturday's game.
 
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