At last, the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine won a tight Big West Conference road game.

After losing its previous three on the mainland by a combined seven points, UH came out on top with a 55-54 victory at UC Irvine on Thursday, thanks to guard Morgan Mason’s putback at the buzzer.

"You know, it was nice," Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said. "We needed to win a close one, we needed to win a close one on the road. This team has been about learning lessons and learning situations, the entire season. We actually played ’til the horn blew. Had a big (13-point) lead, lost it, didn’t give up."

UH (14-10, 8-4 Big West) won its third straight game and moved into a second-place tie in conference play despite its top player, senior forward Kamilah Jackson, missing her second straight game with a right foot injury. Several other players were hampered by illnesses, Beeman said.

On the deciding play at the Bren Events Center, Mason grabbed an offensive rebound of a missed layup by Shawna Kuehu with six seconds left, and from the middle of the paint put home a scoop shot. It was UH’s third attempt on its desperate final possession.

Mason led the way with 14 points and a career-high eight rebounds.

Destiny King added 11 points and seven boards; Kuehu scored 10. Guard Sydney Haydel helped make up for Jackson’s absence by grabbing a career-best 11 rebounds.

UH outrebounded Irvine 40-31, helping make up for 0-for-11 shooting on 3s and 17 turnovers.

The Wahine attained a home-and-home sweep of Irvine (12-13, 5-6) and will attempt to do the same thing at UC Davis (10-14, 5-6) in a noon game on Saturday. UH must drive from Southern to Northern California on Friday, a five- or six-hour bus ride.

Beeman said Jackson was questionable for Saturday and she would err on the side of caution.

"We’re going to take as much time as we can," Beeman said. "As long as we’re winning games without her, that’s fantastic for us as a team. I think it makes us better."

Forward Camille Buckley led the Anteaters with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — Hawaii 28, UC Irvine 27.
3-point goals — Hawaii 0-11 (Kailiawa 0-2, Kuehu 0-2, Harris 0-2, Karaitiana 0-2, Haydel 0-1, Mason 0-1, Moore 0-1). UC Irvine 6-13 (Meggs 3-4, Aguilar 3-7, Tsurumoto 0-1, McKenney 0-1). Steals — Hawaii 6 (Mason 2, Haydel, Kuehu, Harris, Karaitiana). UC Irvine 8 (Onogomuho 3, Bernard 3, Aguilar, McKenney). Blocked shots — Hawaii 1 (King). UC Irvine 1 (Onogomuho). Technical foul — none. Officials — Rick Thorne, Melissa Banal-Hoyt, Crystal Hogan. A — 477.

Thursday
Hawaii 55, UC Irvine 54
Long Beach State 65, UC Davis 62
CS Fullerton 78, Cal Poly 77
UC Riverside 67, UC Santa Barbara 57

Saturday
Hawaii at UC Davis, noon
CS Northridge at UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara at CS Fullerton
Cal Poly at UC Riverside