ANAHEIM, CALIF. » The top-seeded Hawaii Rainbow Wahine got a test from No. 7 Cal State Fullerton but pulled away to win 73-64 in the Big West tournament semifinals on Friday at the Honda Center. 

UH (23-7) won its 15th straight game and advanced to its first conference championship game since 2002. Laura Beeman’s team will play No. 2 Cal State Northridge, the defending tournament champion, on Saturday at noon (Hawaii time) for the title.

Hawaii beat CSF (13-19) for the third time this season, but it was not easy as the Titans stuck to a 2-3 zone just about the entire way and encouraged the Wahine to shoot over the top. UH hit its first five 3s of the game, but finished 8-for-18 from long range. Fullerton went 10-for-18 from deep.

"I hate playing (Fullerton), they are a very well-balanced team," Beeman said. "When you have that No. 1 seed attached to you, the first game is the most difficult. Don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I guess we feel like the monkey is off our back. Absolute compliments to Cal State Fullerton for what they’ve done this season. They’re a tremendous basketball team."

Shawna-Lei Kuehu led the way with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds. Destiny King had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Marissa Wimbley scored 12.

UH went 7-for-10 at the free-throw line to put it away when Fullerton went into desperation foul mode.

Hawaii’s early momentum, thanks to 6-for-7 shooting on 3s, evaporated by halftime. The Titans bridged the halves with an 18-2 run to go up 38-36.

"It is key to keep our composure," King said.

Freshman Megan Huff ended the run with a difficult leaning basket.

UH countered with an 11-0 run to go back up 51-43, during which Kuehu had the play of the game. The senior stuffed guard Chante Miles in the paint, ignited her own fast break and dished to Wimbley for a three-point play.

"A lot of our energy and intensity comes off of our defense and translates to our offense," Kuehu said.

Fullerton hung around by earning repeated trips to the free-throw line. They made six straight to get within 56-53 with under seven minutes left. 

King stuck a three-point play to extend the lead back to six.

Kuehu sank a 19-footer to beat the shot clock for a 66-55 lead with 3:20 to play.

King went down with a leg cramp with under three minutes left. After a few minutes, she managed to walk off the court. She returned in the final minute and finished out the game.

Fullerton seemingly could not miss from long range for much of the game. It sank nine of its first 13 3-point attempts and finished 10-for-18.

Overall, UH shot 48.1 percent to 31.5 percent for CSF.

UH moved the ball well, assisting on 11 of 15 first-half field goals.

The Wahine began the game hot from long range, sinking their first five 3-point attempts — two each by Wimbley and Ashleigh Karaitiana and one by Briana Harris. They were 6-for-7 from deep after Wimbley’s third hit.

Kuehu used her customary energizer role off the bench to score six straight points during an 11-0 Wahine run, seizing a 22-7 lead.

But Fullerton kept at what it does best — flaring out for 3-pointers. CSF shot 6-for-9 from long range in the first half and closed out the first half on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 36-29 at the break.

CSUN (22-9) won 61-47 over fifth-seeded UC Davis (15-16) in the second semifinal Friday behind 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists by Ashlee Guay.