DAVIS, Calif. — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team saw a double-digit lead dissolve into a 61-51 loss to UC Davis to close out a road trip on Saturday at the University Credit Union Center in Davis, Calif.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (13-9, 10-3 Big West) took a 31-21 lead into halftime and built a 13-point cushion early in the third quarter before the host Aggies charged back to tie the game late in the period. UC Davis (13-10, 9-4) then raced away in the fourth quarter with a 9-for-12 shooting performance from the field over the final 10 minutes to snap UH's four-game winning streak.
 
Sophomore forward Imani Perez led the Rainbow Wahine with 14 points with two 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds. Guard Lily Wahinekapu finished with 12 points and went 2 for 2 from 3-point range. Guard Daejah Phillips added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
 
UH hit its first four 3-point attempts but cooled off to finish 7 for 25 beyond the arc. The 'Bows shot 29.6% overall, going 6 for 28 in the second half. Conversely, UC Davis struggled from the field in the first half but found its range after the break to shoot 63% (14 for 22) with five 3-pointers in the second half.
 
Guard Tova Sabel led UC Davis with a game-high 17 points and guard Victoria Baker scored all 12 of her points in the second half to spark the Aggies' comeback. Guard Nya Epps went 4 for 4 in the fourth quarter to finish with 10 points and guard Evanne Turner added 11.  
 
UH's loss and UC Irvine's win over UC Riverside on Saturday created a tie for first place in a crowded Big West regular-season race. UC Davis, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara closed the weekend a game behind the leaders at 9-4 in conference play.
 
It was UH that came out firing from 3-point range on Saturday afternoon and the Rainbow Wahine drained their first four attempts from behind the arc, including MeiLani McBee's deep 3 to beat the shot clock and Wahinekapu's high-arcing rainbow to give UH a 14-9 lead.
 
The 'Bows led 20-15 after the first quarter but connected on one of their first 11 attempts of the second quarter, with Perez making her first 3-pointer. Even so, UH maintained the lead while holding UC Davis to six points in the second quarter to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
 
Perez hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter to give UH its largest lead of the game, but the 'Bows missed their next eight shots and went more than six minutes without a field goal while UC Davis closed to 37-32 on a Mazatlan Harris 3-pointer.
 
Sabel and Turner connected on four free throws to cut the lead to one at 37-36 with 2:42 left in the period. After Wahinekapu ended UH's drought, Baker hit a 3-pointer from the top to tie the game at 39-39. UCD tied it up again at 41-41 before Olivia Davies drained a 3 from the right corner at the third-quarter buzzer to send UH into the final period with a 44-41 lead.
 
UCD scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to take its first lead of the game and a steal and layup by Epps prompted a UH timeout with the Aggies leading 47-44. UC Davis continued to pull away while UH went 3 for 15 in the period.
 
UH will take on two of the conference contenders when the 'Bows return to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to face Cal Poly on Thursday, Feb. 15 and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Feb. 17.  Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.