The Hawaii women’s basketball team clamped down on UC Irvine to take control of the Big West Conference race.

Junior MeiLani McBee scored all 14 of her points in the second half and the Rainbow Wahine held the Anteaters to 25% shooting (16-for-64) from the field in a 55-43 victory on Saturday night.

A SimpliFI Arena at Stan Sheriff Center season-high crowd of 1,555 saw Hawaii (12-8, 9-2) hold UC Irvine (14-7, 8-3) under 50 points for a second time this season to move into sole possession of first place.

Lily Wahinekapu added 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals and Imani Perez had 10 points and six rebounds after missing Thursday’s game for UH, which is 6-0 in conference play at home.

“We love Hawaii. We love playing for our fans, and when we can do what we’re supposed to do on our home court, that means a lot to these kids and that means a lot to me,” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said. “I just thought it was a really fun game. I thought the girls were really locked in to what we were supposed to do.”

Daejah Phillips made two free throws with 2:21 remaining to give UH its largest lead at 54-37. The Anteaters made one field goal in the first 7:58 in the fourth quarter and never got closer than seven points after Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba’s layup opened the quarter.

McBee, whose first points came on two free throws two minutes into the third quarter, answered Baba’s layup with a 3-pointer and made another three possessions later to push the lead back to double digits, where it stayed the rest of the game.

Her 14 points were her most since the opening week of the season.

“I know I struggled a bit in the first half, especially with foul trouble, but I knew I needed to step up in the second half and that’s what I did,” McBee said.

Hawaii outrebounded the Anteaters 44-32 and won despite committing 17 turnovers to only six for UC Irvine.

Perez played 31 minutes and shot 4-for-5 from the field. Her return after missing Thursday’s game due to a personal matter gave UH an inside presence it sorely missed in a narrow 5-point win over Cal State Fullerton two days earlier.

“For me it was nice to be in this atmosphere again with everybody,” Perez said. “Everyone had my back today, so it was great.”

Both teams struggled from the field from the start. Hawaii made one field goal in the first six minutes but only trailed 6-3 as the Anteaters also couldn’t find the basket.

Nevaeh Parkinson was fouled on a layup to put UCI ahead 8-7 but was whistled for a technical foul after jawing at Hawaii center Jacque David.

Parkinson missed her free throw and Phillips made both technical foul shots to start a 14-3 run to put UH ahead 21-11 with 6:12 left in the second quarter.

The Anteaters shot 24% (8-for-34) from the field in the first half and were 0-for-8 from the 3-point line, but only trailed 27-18 at the break after a Nikki Tom steal and assist to Deja Lee for a layup with a second to go cut the lead to single digits.

Hawaii was hit with foul trouble as Wahinekapu, Perez and Phillips all picked up their second fouls in the last two minutes of the first half.

UH kept its nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter as the game turned into a scoring contest between Lee and McBee.

McBee had eight of UH’s 13 third-quarter points, while Lee had all 13 of the Anteaters’ points on 5-for-8 shooting.

“It was great to have Imani back. We needed her as much as she needed us,” Beeman said. “(McBee) got going in the second half, and to hold Irvine as a team to 43 points, and we outrebounded them, it’s pretty impressive what these guys do when they are locked in.”

Lee scored a game-high 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting for UC Irvine, which went 3-for-39 from the 3-point line in two regular season games against Hawaii.

It was the first time UH held an opponent without a 3-pointer since January 2020.

UH will hit the road for its next two games beginning Thursday at UC San Diego.