Going into the final quarter of a grueling stretch in the schedule, Hawaii guard Lily Wahinekapu summoned enough energy to help drive the Rainbow Wahine over the finish line in Saturday’s 55-51 win over UC Riverside.

Wahinekapu scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter and UH held off the visiting Highlanders before a crowd of 669 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to cap a run of four games in eight days.

The sophomore accounted for all four Wahine field goals in the final period and finished with 10 rebounds to post her first double-double of the season. She also dished out four assists and had four steals.

“I’m extremely tired, but at the same time excited to continue to play more games,” Wahinekapu said. “Trying to keep my body right, getting into ice tubs after practice, doing the little things to make sure that I’m ready to play.”

The Rainbow Wahine split a road trip that ended Monday, returned to Honolulu on Tuesday and went to overtime in a loss to UC Irvine on Thursday. After a couple of late turnovers helped UC Riverside cut a nine-point margin to three with 37 seconds left, UH coach Laura Beeman attributed the ragged play on both sides in part to the grind of the compressed schedule.

“That’s just the result of a bunch of girls being really tired,” Beeman said. “I know how tired I am right now and I haven’t been running up and down the floor.

“I just hope these kids can regroup a little bit across the board so we play better basketball and we don’t have injuries.”

UH (7-10, 5-3 Big West) overcame 17 turnovers and 9-for-18 shooting from the free-throw line to move into a tie for third place in the conference heading into a road trip to complete the first half of the league schedule. The Wahine play at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday and at Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 28.

UH forward Kallin Spiller scored all 10 of her points in the first half and had seven rebounds. Forward Jacque David added nine points and four boards as UH outscored UCR 38-18 in the paint.

UH attempted a season-low 11 3-pointers and made two with Wahinekapu connecting from behind the arc to give UH a 53-45 lead with 4:08 left.

“We knew we were going to have the size advantage,” Beeman said. “The goal was definitely, right out of transition, to try to pound the ball inside and take advantage of the mismatches.”

The Wahine built a 28-18 lead in the second quarter when Meilani McBee dropped an assist to a cutting Daejah Phillips. But UC Riverside chipped away at the deficit, aided by UH’s shaky free-throw shooting, and closed to 44-43 on Jordan Webster’s 3-pointer less than a minute into the fourth.

Wahinekapu answered with a driving score and went on to account for all but one of UH’s points in the quarter. Phillips’ free throw with 17.4 seconds left all but sealed the win.

“At the end of the game when they’re scrambling you know Lily has the capability of making big plays,” Beeman said. “Not surprised that Lily’s able to hit some of those tough shots, calm us down and get us some composure.”

Webster and Anna Blount led UC Riverside (4-15, 2-7) with 10 points each.

Beeman indicated she’s not alone among the conference coaches in her dissatisfaction with the schedule.

“Anyone who thinks four games in eight days in the middle of conference is healthy for kids mentally and physically isn’t watching basketball,” she said.

“There’s different scheduling models and I think we need to take a look at that for the health and safety of these kids and how much school they’re missing.”

UCI’s Williams to have surgery

UC Irvine guard Olivia Williams is scheduled to have surgery on Monday after she suffered a gruesome knee injury during the Anteaters’ game against UH on Thursday, according to UCI coach Tamara Inoue.

Inoue said Williams’ knee “popped out” and an X-ray taken at an emergency room showed no broken bones. She said when the surgery is performed, they’ll “be able to get in there and see what’s really going on.”

Williams suffered the injury with 3:49 left in the first quarter and was on the court for close to 10 minutes as medical staff from UCI and UH tended to her.

“I thought everyone did a really good job trying to manage it,” Inoue said.

Williams’ mother, Kate, was in the stands and came down to the court while she was being treated. Inoue said Williams’ sister had also made the trip from New Zealand for the game.

She was able to travel back to California with the team after the Anteaters pulled out a 71-67 win in overtime.

“It’s been amazing,” Inoue said of the responses she’s received since Williams’ injury. “Some people have reached out and been really gracious and supportive. I got a lot of text messages and lot of concern.

“(The players) were crying at halftime. It was a hard thing to witness. Our team’s really close, I just had to do my best to keep them focused and keep them fighting.”