The work to fill two key roles continues, as does Hawaii’s search for its first win of the season.

Down by six with 1:34 left in regulation, the Rainbow Wahine pulled off a comeback to force overtime against Lipscomb on Sunday in the final game of the Bank of Hawaii Classic. They couldn’t muster another in the extra period and dropped to 0-4 with a 73-69 loss to the Bisons before an afternoon gathering at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Wahine entered the season with 11 returnees back from a Big West title team, with leading scorer Amy Atwell now playing professionally in Australia and vocal point guard Nae Nae Calhoun at California Baptist after transferring to be closer to home.

UH coach Laura Beeman noted both absences after the Wahine fell to 0-4 for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

“We just have to get better,” Beeman said. “We’ve got a team that is lacking leadership by the departure of Nae and when you play alongside of a pro like Amy, there’s going to be holes to fill. We’re still trying to figure out who we are.”

UH guard Lily Wahinekapu led the Rainbow Wahine with 18 points on 7-for-20 shooting with three 3-pointers, connecting from long range with 11.2 seconds left in regulation to cut Lipscomb’s lead to 56-55.

UH guard Daejah Phillips sat for extended stretches due to foul trouble, picking up her fourth with 5:40 left in regulation. She returned to the court late in regulation and delivered the game-tying basket with 3.5 seconds left when she took a handoff from forward Nnenna Orji, curled around the screen and drove the baseline for a reverse layup to send the teams into overtime at 57-57.

Lipscomb scored the first six points of overtime, before UH responded with 3-pointers from Wahinekapu and Meilani McBee. Phillips tied it again at 65-65, scoring off a feed from Wahinekapu with 1:29 left.

Lipscomb forward Aleah Sorrentino scored in the post and Jalyn Holcomb’s jumper in the lane gave the Bisons a 69-65 lead with 28 seconds left. The Bisons held on from there, with Sorrentino hitting two free throws to cap a game-high 21-point performance and put the game out of reach.

Sorrentino went 7-for-14 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds for Lipscomb (3-3). Bella Vinson, a 6-foot-2 guard/forward, scored 17 of her 20 points in the second half.

Vinson sliced through the UH defense on drives into the paint, while also going 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and finished 8-for-13 overall. Holcomb added 12 points and six steals. Vinson and Sorrentino helped the Bisons outscore UH 36-22 in the paint.

“(Vinson) was able to give us some bully moves and get into the paint and we kind of blew assignments,” Beeman said.

“We knew (Sorrentino) was going to be a workhorse and when you’re playing against a young lady who can play 40 minutes a game and can grind all game long you have to figure out if you’re going to play harder than her or not, and then it has to come down to execution.”

Phillips finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in 29 minutes. McBee went 3-for-5 from 3-point range to account for her nine points. Forward Kallin Spiller added seven points and 12 rebounds.

Beeman said UH’s season-low eight turnovers was “incredible for as fast paced as the game was. But a couple of those came at really crucial times.”

UH opens the Rainbow Wahine Showdown on Friday against Grambling State at 2:30 p.m. The Wahine will face Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday in a rematch of the Eagles’ 65-45 win last Friday. The tournament ends next Sunday with UH taking on No. 2 Stanford.

“We just need to practice harder than what we’re doing,” Phillips said. “That’s really it, and somehow get a leader in the next four days.”