The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team started slowly in its first two games of the American Savings Bank Rainbow Wahine Showdown. But as it did a day earlier in knocking off Fresno State, UH came back Saturday from a halftime deficit, this time beating Tennessee-Martin 47-39.
Coach Laura Beeman knows that might not be a path to success against today’s opponent. The Wahine play No. 1-ranked UCLA at 2:30 p.m. in what amounts to the championship game of the round-robin tournament at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
“You’re not going to stop everything they do,” Beeman said of the Bruins. “We’re going to pick our poison and do what we need to do. But we need to execute our offense much better than what we’ve been doing.”
The Wahine trailed the Skyhawks by seven at halftime Saturday, but for the second day in a row used a fullcourt press early in the third quarter to help turn things around.
They scored the first 11 points after the break to take a 28-24 lead and never trailed thereafter.
“We just came out a little more aggressive in our press than we did against Fresno,” said Daejah Phillips, who was one of four Wahine to score during the early third-quarter blitz. “Us adjusting how hot and cold we were on our press and where we were setting (made a difference).”
Phillips did a little of everything for the Wahine, including two assists, two steals, and two blocks to go with her eight points.
Imani Perez’s five points included the go-ahead points on a driving layup.
Lily Wahinekapu scored four of the first six points of the decisive run. The senior point guard led Hawaii (5-1) with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman post Ritorya Tamilo scored nine points, and added 10 rebounds as part of Hawaii’s 39-31 advantage on the boards.
Anaya Brown paced UT Martin with 11 points, while Kaitlyn McCarn led the Skyhawks (1-6) with seven rebounds.
UCLA beat Fresno State 97-41 in the first game.
The Bruins improved to 7-0, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-3.
UCLA’s wins include a 77-62 home victory over previous No. 1 and undefeated 2023-24 national champion South Carolina one week ago.
The Bruins are led by 6-foot-7 junior center Lauren Betts, who posted her fifth consecutive double-double Saturday. She scored 20 points with 12 rebounds and a block against Fresno State, all without committing a foul. Juniors Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez added 15 points each, Jariah Barker scored 13, and Angela Dugalic added 11.
The Wahine and Bruins meet in the tournament finale after Tennessee-Martin (1-6) and Fresno State (5-4) meet at noon.
