Hawaii’s sparkling performance on Saturday night rivaled the gleam of the rings the Rainbow Wahine received following their victory over Cal State Fullerton.
Before the Rainbow Wahine commemorated last season’s Big West championship with a postgame presentation, dazzling shooting performances from UH guards Meilani McBee and Lily Wahinekapu highlighted a 66-53 win before a crowd of 1,127 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine (5-8, 3-1 Big West) also dished out a season-high 22 assists and held off the Titans two nights after seeing an 18-point lead evaporate in a loss to UC San Diego.
“When we share the ball we play really pretty basketball,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “That is what was missing on Thursday.”
UH ended the second week of conference play tied for second with Cal State Northridge, with UC Irvine (3-0) the lone unbeaten remaining in the Big West race.
McBee scored 17 of her career-high 22 points in the second half and hit six 3-pointers, also a new career best. The sophomore knocked down three shots from long range in the fourth quarter as UH held off the Titans to earn a bounce-back win.
Wahinekapu, who earned Big West Freshman of the Year honors with Cal State Fullerton last season, sparked the Rainbow Wahine with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in the first half of her first meeting against her former team.
Wahinekapu finished with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, hitting all four of her 3-point attempts, and dished out a season-high seven assists.
“Before the game I was just focusing on my team and what I can do for the team, not so much my past playing for Fullerton,” Wahinekapu said. “They respect me and I respect them.”
UH guard Daejah Phillips also set a career high with eight assists, forward Kallin Spiller grabbed 11 rebounds and McBee had four of UH’s 13 steals.
McBee had gone 0-for-10 from 3-point range over a five-game stretch before going 2-for-6 in the 60-57 loss to UC San Diego on Thursday.
She drained her first on Saturday from the left wing to give UH a 19-8 lead early in the second quarter. She hit two more in the third quarter, the second tilting the momentum back to the Wahine after Cal State Fullerton cut a 13-point halftime lead to five.
“I don’t think there wasn’t anybody in the arena that didn’t start thinking about Thursday,” Beeman said of the Titans’ surge. “It was nice to see (the Wahine) not lose their confidence. We had a really good timeout when we needed to in the third quarter. They had a great conversation on the bench and I loved to hear that.”
McBee opened the fourth quarter with another 3 and UH’s first five field goals of the period came from behind the arc.
“I’ve been struggling with my shot the past couple games and getting in shots today worked very well in my favor,” McBee said. “The coaches have been giving me little reminders that have been working and I just shot the ball today.”
Wahinekapu also hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and Kelsie Imai connected twice. McBee’s lone attempt inside the arc came on a breakaway layup off an assist from Imai and she followed with her final 3 of the night.
The Rainbow Wahine then celebrated last season’s Big West regular-season and tournament titles with the ring presentation. Amy Atwell, last season’s Big West Player of the Year, provided a video message from Australia, where she is playing professionally.
Cal State Fullerton guard Gabi Vidmar hit five 3-pointers and led the Titans (6-7, 1-3) with 16 points and Una Jovanovic added 14.
The Rainbow Wahine have only one game this week, playing at Long Beach State (7-7, 2-2) on Saturday.
