FULLERTON, Calif. — Hot shooting off the bench and stingy defense late helped power the University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team to 59-49 win over Cal State Fullerton to open the Big West season on Saturday in Fullerton, Calif.
 
UH senior guard Ashley Thoms knocked down a career-high four 3 pointers in a season-best 12-point performance and the Rainbow Wahine (4-6, 1-0 Big West) held the host Titans (5-7 1-1) to seven points in the fourth quarter to win their conference opener for the third straight season.
 
The Rainbow Wahine extended their winning streak in the series with Cal State Fullerton to nine while earning their first road win of the season.
 
After UH got off to slow start, guard Kelsie Imai entered the game at the 6:54 mark of the first quarter and sparked the ‘Bows with four points, three assists and four steals over the remainder of the period. She finished with nine points, tying her season high, on 4-for-5 shooting and combined with Thoms to help UH build a 25-4 advantage in bench points.

Sophomore forward Imani Perez returned from a one-game absence to post eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. UH won the rebounding battle for the first time this season with a 42-33 edge on the boards and the ‘Bows’ total was also a season best to date.

 

Guard Lily Wahinekapu, who began her college career at Cal State Fullerton, added nine points and four rebounds in her return to Titan Gym. Guard MeiLani McBee hit three 3-pointers and UH went 8 for 20 behind the arc as a team.

 

UH missed its first six shots of the game and trailed 4-0 more than four minutes into the opening period before Imai scored on a driving layup. Imai assisted on McBee’s first 3-pointer for the lone lead change of the game, then converted a steal into a layup and later found Thoms for a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 UH run.

 

Thoms stayed hot in the second quarter and her third 3-pointer gave UH a 31-17 lead with 2:04 left in the half.

 

UH led 33-19 at halftime before Cal State Fullerton guards Fujika Nimmo and Hope Hassmann led a charge in the third quarter, going a combined 7 for 9 from the field in the period to help the Titans close to within two on two occasions. But Thoms’ fourth 3-pointer in as many attempts slowed the Titans’ momentum and McBee connected from long range to extend UH’s lead to 41-35.

 

The Rainbow Wahine took a 47-42 edge into the fourth quarter and limited the Titans to seven points over the final 10 minutes. UH held Cal State Fullerton scoreless for the first 6:52 of the fourth period and took control with a 7-0 run. Guard Olivia Davies hit a jumper in the lane to push the lead back to double digits and found freshman Jade Peacock cutting to the basket for a layup that gave UH a 54-42 margin and the ‘Bows finished off the win.

 

Nimmo went 5 for 10 from 3-point range and led Cal State Fullerton with 17 points and center Ashlee Lewis finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Hassmann went 4 for 4 from the field and finished with nine points for the Titans, who picked up a win at Long Beach State in their conference opener on Thursday.

 

The Rainbow Wahine will play their first home game in more than a month when they face Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 4 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff for the conference home opener is set for 6 p.m. UH will cap the homestand against CSUN on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.

 

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