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WBB senior night team
51
UC Riverside UCR 16-12,11-7 Big West
62
Winner Hawaii Hawaii 18-9,15-3 Big West
UC Riverside UCR
16-12,11-7 Big West
51
Final
62
Hawaii Hawaii
18-9,15-3 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Riverside UCR 11 8 14 18 51
Hawaii Hawaii 14 16 16 16 62

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Rainbow Wahine Defeat UC Riverside on Senior Night

HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team concluded its home schedule in style with a 62-51 win over UC Riverside on Saturday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

An energized Senior Night crowd of 4,202 (3,229 turnstile) watched the Rainbow Wahine (18-9, 15-3) clinch a top-two seed in the upcoming Big West Championships and take a step closer to claiming this year's regular-season title.

UH guard Daejah Phillips led the Rainbow Wahine with 18 points and nine rebounds for a near double-double, while forward Jacque David hit a trio of three-pointers en route to 11 points. The Rainbow Wahine not only avenged a loss at UC Riverside (16-12, 11-7) from earlier this season, but also capped a 10-0 run in Big West home games. UH went undefeated at home in conference play for the fifth time since the Stan Sheriff Center opened in 1994 and the  first time since the 2014-15 season.

Before being honored in the postgame Senior Night ceremony, Olivia Davies hit two 3-pointers early in the third quarter and Ashley Thoms was part of a defensive effort that held UCR guard Jordan Webster, the Big West's leading scorer entering the night, to just 10 points on a 1-for-14 showing from the field.

Makayla Jackson carried the load for the Highlanders with 20 points, but it wasn't enough. UCR, which hit 12 3-pointers in the first meeting with UH, scored its first nine points from behind the arc in the rematch, but finished just 5-of-17 from three-point range. 
 
UH led by three after the first quarter, but broke the game open with a second and third-quarter surge that saw them built its lead to as many as 20 points.  

The 'Bows took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter and UCR tied it up on Matehya Bryant's three-point play. MeiLani McBee knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the win to spark a 13-4 UH burst. Lily Wahinekapu hit a 3-pointer, Phillips converted a three-point play in the run and UH held UCR without a field goal for the final 4:29 of the period and took a 30-19 lead into halftime.

UH held Webster, who scored 28 points against UH in the first meeting and entered the night averaging 17.4 points per game, scoreless through the first 20 minutes.

The UH seniors took the spotlight to start the third quarter. Davies knocked down a three-pointer and Thoms came up with a steal that led to another Davies three and, as she has done so often in her career, drew a charge to force another UCR turnover.

UCR started 0-for-4 in the third quarter until Bryant scored in the paint at the 4:17 mark of the period to end a nearly nine-minute UCR drought without a field goal. The Highlanders went on a 7-0 run to close to 13 before UH freshman Jade Peacock broke free for a layup and Phillips attacked the basket for another bucket.

UH led 59-44 when David hit her third three-pointer of the night and UCR inched back to within eight at 59-51 with 46 seconds left thanks to a 7-0 run. But it was too-little, too-late for the Highlanders who ended the contest shooting just 29 percent from the floor and UH extended its winning streak to a season-high five games and picked up its ninth win in the last 10 games.

The Rainbow Wahine close the regular season with road games at CSUN on March 7 and CSU Bakersfield on March 9 in the regular-season finale. From there, they continue on to Henderson, Nev. for the Big West Championship, starting with a semifinal contest on Friday, March 15 at the Dollar Loan Center.
 
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