BERKELEY, Calif. — A frenetic fourth-quarter comeback fell short and the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team closed the 2023-24 season with a 65-60 loss to California in the first round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament on Thursday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif.
 
Down by nine to open the fourth quarter and again with 6:08 remaining, the Rainbow Wahine twice closed to within two, the final occasion coming with 45 seconds left when Imani Perez hit her third 3-pointer of the game. But the host Golden Bears weathered UH's pressure then answered with a 3-pointer and hung on to advance to the tournament's round of 16.
 
UH closed the season at 20-11 after capturing the Big West regular-season championship and earning a third consecutive postseason appearance. Cal (19-14) will remain in Berkeley to face Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
 
UH guard Lily Wahinekapu led the Rainbow Wahine with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. Perez added 11 points and connected on two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to help fuel UH's rally. MeiLani McBee finished with 10 points with two 3-pointers. Daejah Phillips, who suffered an injury in UH's loss to UC Davis in the semifinals of the Big West Championship on March 15, returned to the rotation and scored all nine of her points in the fourth quarter, going 7 for 7 from the free-throw line.
 
The loss came on UH's 17^th day on the road after closing the regular season with two games in California, continuing on to the Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev., then making the trip to Berkeley for the WBIT matchup.
 
"We wanted to win this ballgame, felt like we could have won this ballgame. So that part of it really hurts," UH coach Laura Beeman said in the postgame press conference. "But to have a team that doesn't quit, to have a team that plays for one another, to have a team that represents the State of Hawai'i the way this team does, I could not be more proud.
 
"I asked them to play proud today and they did. They played proud."
 
Cal freshman Lulu Laditan-Twidale went 6-for-7 from the field overall and hit all five of her attempts in the second half, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Golden Bears with 20 points.
 
There were three ties and five lead changes in the first quarter with UH scoring the final six points of the period and taking an 18-13 lead on Brooklyn Rewers' hook in the paint. Cal, which broke the program record for 3-pointers in a season, opened the second quarter by knocking down three consecutive shots from behind the arc in a 9-0 run to take a 22-18 lead.
 
UH shot 41% from the field in the first 10 minutes but missed its first six shots of the second quarter before Perez scored on a putback at the 4:20 mark of the period. The Bows started 1 for 12 in the quarter yet remained close in limiting Cal to a 1-for-7 stretch after its hot start to the period. The 'Bows closed the half with Wahinekapu hitting a jumper just before the buzzer to cut Cal's lead to 23-22 at the break.
 
Perez and Wahinekapu hit 3-pointers to open the third quarter to push UH ahead 28-23. Cal answered to tie it at 29-29 then reclaimed the lead when Marta Suarez scored on a drive while drawing a foul. Cal stretched the run to 15-2 and took a 43-34 lead into the final period.
 
Phillips scored her first basket of the night on a drive and completed a three-point play to spark a 7-0 UH run to open the fourth quarter. UH closed to 43-41 on Kelsie Imai's layup before Cal ended the run and McBee answered with her second 3-pointer of the game.
  
After Laditan-Twidale's final 3-pointer gave Cal a 60-52 cushion with 2:50 left, UH put together another charge and closed to within two on Perez's 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. UH nearly came up with a steal in the backcourt, but Cal managed to maintain possession and Kemery Martin hit Cal's 11^th 3-pointer of the game to push the lead back to five with 18 seconds left. The Bears held on from there to earn a spot to the tournament's second round while UH closed Beeman's 12th season as head coach with the eighth postseason appearance of her career.