Freshman Daejah Phillips scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half as Hawaii outlasted UH-Hilo 71-54 on Sunday at SimpliFi Arena.

Phillips, one of six freshmen on the Rainbow Wahine roster, was relentless on drives to the rim. The 5-foot-10 guard from Centennial (Las Vegas) High School added eight rebounds and four assists for Hawaii (1-1). She was 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.

“Daejah, it was another great game from her, and Amy (Atwell) did a great job on the boards,” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said.

Hawaii overcame the loss of point guard Nae Nae Calhoun, who suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier in the week.

“She’s a big factor to us. I feel like we have two freshman point guards who can step up and really help,” Phillips said. “I feel like the season is really for Nae Nae right now. We’ve just got to go out there and play for Nae Nae.”

Kasey Neubert added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Atwell overcame a knee injury and tallied seven points and 11 rebounds.

“It’s nice to get a win, to play on our home court and do what we love,” Beeman said. “The second quarter was rough and ugly. We went back to some bad habits, but there was a really nice stretch where we ran our sets and pounded the ball inside. It’s what we were waiting to see.”

At the point, freshmen Kelsie Imai and Teionni McDaniel combined for six points, eight rebounds, four assists and 10 turnovers.

“Our two freshmen point guards are getting battle tested,” Beeman said. “The team’s morale is good. I know we can play better. We need to do better things at practice. Giving shooters too much space, not paying attention to where the ball was on the pin (screens).”

Junior guard Mandi Kawaha led the Division II Vulcans (0-1) with 23 points, including 15 in the first half, as the visitors seized a 33-32 lead at the break. The former Hilo High School standout added six rebounds.

Hawaii is scheduled to leave on Christmas Day to play Cal Poly on the road.

“We’ll find testing kits, spend five hours in the plane and then 45 minutes driving after we land, and then have our legs ready,” Beeman said of the Big West Conference opener. “We have to make sure we stay safe and stay in our routine against one of the most physical teams in the conference.”

Against UH-Hilo, the Rainbow Wahine committed 22 turnovers, but improved after a six-giveaway first quarter. Hawaii opened with a clear directive to run the floor and post up at every opportunity on UH-Hilo, which doesn’t have a player taller than 5-11. The Rainbow Wahine shot 47% from the field and outrebounded the Vulcans 56-20.

“Our conditioning is at about 85%. We’re still not in game shape, but it is what it is with this kind of season,” Beeman said.