DAVIS, Calif. — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team closed its final road trip of the regular season with a 74-66 loss to UC Davis on Saturday at the University Credit Union Center in Davis, Calif.
The Rainbow Wahine saw a 10-point halftime lead evaporate in the third quarter and the duel was tied with 2:23 left before the host Aggies put together a closing surge to win their senior day game.
Despite the loss, UH (20-8, 14-4 Big West) enters the final week of the regular season with a one-game lead over UC Irvine in the conference race with UC Davis (18-10, 12-6) and UC San Diego another game back.
UH's sister combo of
Jovi Lefotu and
Lily Wahinekapu accounted for 28 points for the 'Bows. Lefotu tied her career high with 15 points off the bench and Wahinekapu finished with 13 points. Both sisters also had three assists.
MeiLani McBee hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter to raise her career total to 204 and moved one away from tying the program record held by Amy Atwell. McBee finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Tova Sabel scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, hitting two 3-pointers and going 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the final 10 minutes in her final home game. Megan Norris added 16 points and Nya Epps finished with 14.
The game featured seven ties and 11 lead changes and Epps converted a three-point play with 1:41 left to break a 60-60 tie and the Aggies led for the remainder of the game.
UC Davis forced 16 UH turnovers and built a 16-6 advantage in points off of takeaways.
McBee hit the first shot of the game but points her tough to come by early in a matchup of two of the top defensive teams in the Big West.
Brooklyn Rewers entered the game for the 'Bows and promptly scored inside before draining a 3-pointer to give UH a 10-0 lead. UC Davis hit two 3-pointers to get on the board and cut UH's lead to 14-12 going into the second.
McBee knocked down two 3-pointers early in the second quarter to give UH an eight-point cushion, but UC Davis answered again to tie that game. The score remained tight until UH went on a 9-0 run to close the period and Wahinekapu's pull-up jumper with 16 seconds left sent the 'Bows into halftime with a 37-27 lead.
UC Davis stormed out of the locker room to hit seven of its first eight shots of the third quarter and raced ahead with an 15-3 burst, including an 11-0 run to open up a 45-40 lead. UH answered to reclaim the lead with 30 seconds left and the teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 49-49.
Wahinekapu hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the fourth quarter but Sabel scored the next four points to push UC Davis ahead. Lefotu answered with two buckets to give UH a three-point lead before Sabel connected from long range to tie it up again. There would be two more tied before Epps scored while drawing a foul. UH closed to within a point on
Ritorya Tamilo's layup but Sabel hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left and UC Davis maintained control from the free-throw line to earn a split of the season series.
UH dropped both ends of the road trip to drop consecutive games for the first time since a three-game skid in its final two nonconference games in December and the first Big West game of 2025.
The Rainbow Wahine close the regular season with a two-game homestand at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. UH faces CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, March 6 and takes on CSUN on Saturday, March 8 for Senior Night. Both games are set for 7 p.m.
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