Rainbow Wahine suffer tough losses

Hawaii’s loss on the scoreboard was overshadowed by the scene on the court in the final seconds of UC Santa Barbara’s 72-69 win over the Rainbow Wahine basketball team on Thursday in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The host Gauchos erased a 20-point third-quarter deficit, then held off a UH comeback in a game marred by a late injury to Rainbow Wahine guard Jovi Lefotu.

The freshman’s leg appeared to buckle on a drive to the basket with 8.7 seconds left. The game was delayed while trainers tended to Lefotu as UH guard Lily Wahinekapu stayed on the court to comfort her sister, who was eventually carried off the floor.

UC Santa Barbara led 70-67 at that point and Alexis Tucker hit two free throws to cap a 23-point performance and seal the win for the Gauchos at the Thunderdome.

“I’m thrilled with the win, but that is heartbreaking with Jovi at the end,” UCSB coach Bonnie Henrickson said on the ESPN+ broadcast. “Just prayers for her.”

UH coach Laura Beeman declined comment on Lefotu’s status through a UH spokesman after the game.

UH also played without guard Daejah Phillips, the team’s leading scorer entering the week. Guard Olivia Davies recently had season-ending surgery.

UH (7-11, 5-4 Big West) dropped into a tie with UC Davis for fifth place in the Big West and closes its road trip at Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday.

The Wahine opened the game with an 11-0 run and took a 40-28 lead into halftime. They had nine assists on 15 made field goals in the first half and stretched the gap to 51-31 when Lefotu hit a 3-pointer at the 7:06 mark of the third quarter.

Seven UH players had hit a 3-pointer at that point and the Wahine led 57-41 when Kelsie Imai’s shot rolled in with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

But UCSB then went on a 22-0 run bridging the quarter break. Ila Lane sparked the run by converting a three-point play and Tucker was fouled while draining a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter. Tucker hit another 3-pointer to push UCSB ahead 58-57 early in the fourth.

Wahinekapu finally ended the Gauchos’ run with two free throws with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter. Meilani McBee hit a 3-pointer to cut UCSB’s lead to 65-64 and drained another to tie the game 67-67 with 58 seconds left.

Lane then scored on a putback to give the Gauchos the lead again with 40 seconds remaining. McBee missed a 3-pointer, but Lefotu came up with the rebound. After Wahinekapu missed on a drive, Tucker was fouled and made one of two free throws to extend the lead to 70-67 with 14.2 seconds left. After a UH timeout, Lefotu had a lane to the basket when she suffered the injury and Tucker’s next two free throws finished off the win for UCSB.

“We played hard and played some of the best offense we have played all year,” Beeman said in a statement distributed to local media. “Give credit to UCSB for not giving up. Tucker got hot and we didn’t have a defensive answer for her. We got tight and went cold. Proud of the girls for handling all the adversity.”

Wahinekapu led four UH players in double figures with 13 points. McBee hit three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points. Imai and forward Jacque David each finished with 10 points and five assists.

After committing just three turnovers in the first half, UH had 12 in the second half as UCSB turned up its defensive pressure.

Lane scored 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds for UCSB (14-5, 7-2), which remained tied with Long Beach State for second place in the conference. Alyssa Marin and Alexis Whitfield added 11 points each.