Rainbow Wahine beat Gauchos to claim third seed in Big West tourney
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii guard Lily Wahinekapu got around UC Santa Barbara guard Anya Choice during the first half of Saturday’s game at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii guard Lily Wahinekapu scored 13 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Rainbow Wahine basketball team closed the regular season with a 68-58 win over UC Santa Barbara tonight at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Wahinekapu tied her season high to lead four UH players in double figures and the Rainbow Wahine (15-14, 13-7) claimed the third seed in the Big West tournament in Henderson, Nev., while climbing over .500 for the first time this season.
UH, the defending BWC tournament champion, will face sixth-seeded Cal State Fullerton (14-15, 9-11) in a quarterfinal game at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Dollar Loan Center. UC Santa Barbara (19-11, 12-8) fell to the fifth seed and will face fourth seed UC Davis (16-13, 12-7) at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Forward Kallin Spiller hit two 3-pointers and finished with 12 points and six rebounds in her final home game and was honored with guard McKenna Haire in the senior night ceremony following the game.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UCSB
Freshman center Imani Perez added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Daejah Phillips finished with 11 points. Wahinekapu also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals to help UH earn a split of the season series with UCSB.
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UCSB guard Anya Choice hit four 3-pointers in a 9-for-14 shooting performance and posted a game-high 23 points before fouling out in the final minute. Guard Alexis Tucker scored 11 points in the first quarter and was held to seven over the next 30 minutes.
UC Irvine (24-5, 16-2), which canceled two games three weeks ago due to a lack of healthy players, claimed the regular-season title and the top seed in the tournament with a 59-48 win at CSU Bakersfield.
The seedings were determined by winning percentage and UCI jumped past Long Beach State (22-8, 17-3), which had its 15-game winning streak snapped in a 65-56 loss to UC Davis at the Walter Pyramid.
The tournament opens on Tuesday with first-round games. Seventh seeded Cal Poly faces 10th-seed UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge and CSUB meet in the 8-9 game.
