Andie Easley scored 15 points and Lexus Green sank five free throws in the final 1:29 as Cal State Bakersfield fought off a Hawaii rally for a 51-43 win on Saturday at Icardo Center.
The Roadrunners made it a sweep of the visiting Rainbow Wahine in the back-to-back series. CSUB (4-4, 2-2 Big West) also won its first two home games of the season over the weekend.
Playing on the road for the first time, Hawaii dropped to 0-2 in conference play (1-3 overall).
Amy Atwell led the Rainbow Wahine with 23 points, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range. Freshman Daejah Phillips and sophomore Kasey Neubert hauled in 10 rebounds each.
Cold shooting hampered the visitors, who shot 25% from the field (13 of 52) and 55% (11-for-20) at the charity stripe. Hawaii stayed in the game by outrebounding CSUB 48-33 but committed 22 turnovers.
The visitors made a turnaround on Saturday, starting hot after enduring a cold start in a 64-57 loss to CSUB on Friday.
Atwell scored Hawaii’s first seven points of the game, and Olivia Davies’ free throw stretched the lead to 8-0. The Roadrunners finally got on the scoreboard with 4:33 to play in the opening quarter.
Playing their second game in a 26-hour span, Hawaii hit a wall in the second quarter. The home team rallied and took a 17-14 lead late in the first half after a 3 by Lexus Green and free throws by Tyonna Singleton.
Sophie Tougas’ bucket capped CSUB’s 19-6 run before the half. Despite shooting 4-for-24 from the field with 12 turnovers, Hawaii was only down 19-14 at intermission.
CSUB opened the lead to 24-16 on Vanessa Austin’s foul shots with 8:11 to go in the third stanza. A four-point play by Easley at the buzzer extended the Roadrunners’ lead to 35-25, their largest of the night.
After trailing by 12, Hawaii got back-to-back treys from Atwell to pull within 39-33 with 5:49 remaining.
A layup by Phillips and two foul shots by Atwell brought the Rainbow Wahine within 42-37 with 1:44 left. Atwell’s 3 cut it to 44-40 with 1:10 to go.
Green, who thwarted Hawaii on Friday night, hit five free throws during the final 1:29. After Easley sank two free throws with 33 seconds left, the home team led 48-40.
Jadynn Alexander’s trey cut the lead to five points with 29 seconds remaining. Green added a free throw for a 49-43 lead with 24 ticks to go. Jayden Eggleston’s layup with five seconds left provided the final margin for the Roadrunners.
Hawaii had not played since Dec. 20 prior to the weekend. The Rainbow Wahine will host Cal State Fullerton on Friday and Saturday.