LA JOLLA, Calif. — Defense sparked a balanced attack that powered the Big West-leading University of Hawai'i women's basketball team to a 64-52 road win over UC San Diego on Thursday at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, Calif.
 
UH guard Lily Wahinekapu hit a season-high four 3-pointers in her second 16-point performance against UCSD this season. The junior added four assists and seven rebounds as the Rainbow Wahine (13-8, 10-2 Big West) picked up their fourth straight victory to match their longest winning streak of the season. 

UH maintained its hold on sole possession of first place in the Big West and remains a game ahead of UC Irvine and two clear of UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly and UC Davis.
 
Rainbow Wahine guard Daejah Phillips, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, scored 11 points off the bench, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and converted a three-point play late in the fourth quarter to thwart UCSD's comeback attempt.
 
Forward Imani Perez added 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting and guard Olivia Davies hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points. In all, eight UH players contributed at least four points and seven had at least one assist as UH tied its season highs with 24 field goals and 15 assists.
 
UH completed a sweep of the regular-season series with UCSD (10-13, 6-6) to even the all-time series at 3-3. The Rainbow Wahine won both meetings by 64-52 scores and never trailed in either game with the Tritons this season, leading for all but 1 minute and 50 seconds of the 80 minutes of playing time.
 
The 'Bows overcame UCSD forward Damilola Sule's double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Gracie Gallegos, Perez' high school teammate, led the Tritons with 13 points.
 
UH came up with five steals in the first quarter and scored 12 points off of turnovers to take command early. Wahinekapu, who scored 16 points against UCSD on Jan. 20 in Honolulu, delivered a pass to Perez for the first bucket of the evening. Later in the period, Perez deflected a pass and Wahinekapu led a fast break and dropped her second assist to Ashley Thoms for a layup. Wahinekapu also hit two 3-pointers in the period to help UH take a 21-14 lead into the second.
 
Thoms converted another takeaway into a layup in the second quarter and the 'Bows pushed the tempo to build a 12-0 advantage in fast-break points in the first half. Guard Kelsie Imai grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Perez for a transition layup. Perez was 4-for-4 from the field when she scored off an assist from Davies and UH led 34-24 at halftime. UH shot 46.7% from the field in the first half and built a 20-6 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Davies and MeiLani McBee hit 3-pointers to open the third quarter and give UH its largest lead at 40-24. UCSD guard Denali Pinto hit a 3-pointer while drawing a foul and completed the four-point play to cut UH's lead to 45-37 with 3:29 left in the third quarter. Wahinekapu hit a 3-pointer to halt UCSD's run and hit another in the final seconds of the quarter to send UH into the fourth with a 51-37 cushion.
 
UCSD made another push and closed to 59-52 with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter, prompting a UH timeout. Phillips halted the run with a baseline drive and scored through contact in the lane. Her free throw pushed UH's lead back to double digits and the 'Bows closed out the win.
 
The Rainbow Wahine head to Northern California for the next leg of the road trip and face UC Davis on Saturday in Davis, Calif. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific Time (noon Hawai'i time).