HONOLULU — The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team’s opening burst propelled the Rainbow Wahine to a commanding 73-47 victory over San Jose State on Sunday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine (3-5) hit their first five shots from the field in opening the game with a 13-0 run and led by double digits the rest of way to close out a six-game homestand.
UH set season highs in points, field goals (21), field-goal percentage (48.9%), 3-point percentage (43.8% on 7-for-16 shooting) and steals (13) to earn a win over the Spartans (4-6) for the second straight season.
UH guard Daejah Phillips led three UH players in double figures with a season-high 17 points and helped spark the defense with four steals. Phillips went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line and the ‘Bows collectively converted on 22 of 25 attempts.
Guard Lily Wahinekapu also put together her most productive game of the season to date with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field, draining both of her 3-point attempts. She tied for the team lead with five rebounds and also had three steals and three assists.
Forward Imani Perez added 12 points while hitting six of nine field-goal attempts. Center Brooklyn Rewers and guard Kelsie Imai contributed nine points each.
Guard Olivia Davies made her first start of the season and dished out assists on UH’s first two possessions leading to a Perez jumper and a Wahinekapu 3-pointer to help ignite the tone-setting run. Guard MeiLani McBee also hit a 3-pointer and Phillips converted a steal into a layup to give UH a 12-0 lead.
Defensively, UH forced a shot-clock violation on SJSU’s opening possession, held the Spartans scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting until the 3:40 mark of the first quarter, and led 18-4 after 10 minutes.
SJSU hit two 3-pointers early in the second quarter, but UH answered both times with Phillips and Rewers connecting from behind the arc. The ‘Bows continued to pull away and opened up a 38-15 lead when Imai scored on a drive into the paint.
UH went into locker room with a 40-17 lead following its highest scoring half of the season, and opened up a 29-point margin in the third quarter. SJSU would get no closer than 18 for the remainder of the game.
SJSU forward Amhyia Moreland and center Semaj Smith led the Spartans with 13 points each.
UH will have an 18-day gap between games before facing No. 2 UCLA on Dec. 21 at Pauley Pavilion in the final non-conference game on the schedule before opening the Big West season at Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 30.
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