SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team opened the new year with a 72-62 loss to UC Santa Barbara in Thursday's Big West matchup at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif.
 
The Rainbow Wahine dropped the opener of a two-game road trip to fall to 6-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The host Gauchos (8-5, 2-1) controlled the boards, hit 10 3-pointers and led for all but 5 minutes and 17 seconds on their way to the win.
 
Lily Wahinekapu led UH with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. Daejah Phillips finished with 13 points and became the 12^th UH player to reach 1,200 career points. Mia 'Uhila scored seven of her season-high 12 points in the fourth quarter as the 'Bows looked to make a final push. But UCSB countered UH's comeback bids and the 'Bows fell short in their fifth straight visit to Santa Barbara.
 
UC Santa Barbara ended the night with a 33-24 rebounding advantage and posted 14 second-chance points, 11 coming in the first half as the Gauchos built a 37-27 lead going into halftime. Cayla Williams scored 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half, Jessica Grant hit four 3-pointers in a 12-point performance and Zoe Borter finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for UCSB.
 
UC Santa Barbara led 18-13 after the first quarter and Skylar Burke and Williams hit 3-pointers to open the second to help the Gauchos open up a double-digit margin.
 
UH went on a 6-0 run to close to 44-36 at the 3:12 mark of the third quarter, but UCSB answered with a 3-pointer by Martha Pietsch. Williams drained two more 3-pointers late in the period to extend UCSB's lead to 53-39.
 
Williams converted a three-point play and Grant hit her fourth 3-pointer to give UCSB its largest lead at 59-43 with seven minutes left. UH made another push with a 9-2 run and closed to 61-52 when 'Uhila scored on a drive while drawing a foul and finished off the three-point play with 4:31 remaining. But UCSB maintained control from the free-throw line and finished 20 for 23 for the game.
 
The Rainbow Wahine close the road trip with a matchup against Cal Poly on Saturday at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Hawai'i Time). The game will be televised on Spectrum SportsNet.