FULLERTON, Calif. — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team stormed back from a double-digit deficit before falling short in the final seconds in an 82-80 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.
 
Trailing 66-56 entering the fourth quarter of the Big West matchup, the Rainbow Wahine (4-5, 0-2 Big West) opened the period with a 15-2 run, tying the game and taking the lead on 3-pointers by Kyra Webb and Kira-May Filemu.
 
There were four ties in the final two minutes, the last coming at 80-80 when Bailey Flavell hit a spinning jumper in the paint with 30 seconds remaining. The Titans (4-5, 2-0) drained the clock and Nicole Steiner drew a foul on a drive and made two free throws with 3.4 seconds left. After a timeout, the 'Bows couldn't get a shot off before the buzzer and dropped their fifth straight to wrap up the Big West's "Bold Week."
 
Flavell led UH with 17 points and hit four 3-pointers for the second straight game. Webb scored 10 of her season-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to spark UH's comeback.
 
Imani Perez posted her second career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and tied her career high with five blocked shots. Ritorya Tamilo added 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field.
 
UH shot a season high 50% from the field, hitting nine of 20 attempts from 3-point range, and went 15 for 18 from the free-throw line. But Cal State Fullerton's pesky pressure forced 27 UH turnovers which led to the Titans' 31-12 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Titans also snared 19 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second-chance points.
 
Cristina Jones came up with six of Cal State Fullerton's 18 steals, several leading to easy buckets, and led the Titans with 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Dylan Swindle finished with 19 points and Steiner and Maddy Tauro added 14 points each.
 
The Titans harassed UH into 14 turnovers in the first half, but the 'Bows answered with Flavell's three 3-pointers and Tamilo's 10 points to trail by a point, 39-38, at the break.
 
Flavell opened the the third quarter with another 3-pointer, but Cal State Fullerton broke away with the aid of 13 points off of turnovers and shot 11 for 19 from the field to power a 27-point quarter and opened up a 66-56 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
 
Webb hit a 3-pointer to spark UH's fourth-quarter surge and Perez scored twice inside to cut the margin to 68-65. Webb then knocked down her third triple of the game and Filemu drained another from the corner to push UH ahead. Webb's putback and transition jumper gave UH a 75-70 lead with 3:19 left. But the Titans came back to tie the game on a steal leading to a layup by Swindle with 1:56 showing on the clock. The final sequence tipped to the Titans and ended UH's 12-game winning streak in the series with Cal State Fullerton dating back to 2020.
 
The Rainbow Wahine return to Mānoa to resume nonconference play and face Hawai'i Hilo in an intrastate matchup on Dec. 11 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.