Amy Atwell scored 16 points and Jadynn Alexander added 12 as Hawaii stunned UC Davis 70-60, handing the Aggies their first loss in Big West Conference play on Friday at SimpliFi Arena in Honolulu.
Freshman Kelsie Imai, a former Waiakea standout, played a major role with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Rainbow Wahine improved to 7-5 in league play (8-6 overall ).
“One, we were at home and it was senior week, and we had our motivation. We were able to put points on the board, not having offensive lulls, ” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said. “The intensity was there. The urgency was there. The rotations were there.”
Cierra Hall scored 13 of her game-high 18 points in the third quarter for UC Davis. Mackenzie Trpcic added 13 and center Sage Stobbart tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds.
UC Davis came to Honolulu with a four-game win streak, but fell to 8-1 in BWC action (9-2 overall ). Hawaii had not beaten the Aggies since Jan. 12, 2019, losing four in a row in their series.
The Rainbow Wahine and Aggies have a rematch today at 6 p.m., in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Coming into the game, UC Davis’ only loss was to No. 11-ranked Oregon, 63-57, in Eugene. Hawaii outrebounded the tall Aggies 43-34 and committed just nine turnovers.
The visitors trailed from the start, falling behind by 16 in the second quarter. They cut the lead to 49-47 before the third stanza ended, going on a 7-0 run with help from Imai, who was whistled for a technical foul.
Imai wasn’t sure what the infraction was for. It wasn’t anything she said.
“I don’t know. Sometimes people take aggressiveness as something else, ” Imai said.
Beeman was glad to see her team respond positively to momentum changes.
“(UC Davis ) is going to go on a run whether tech or not. The game’s a little chippy, there’s some bumping. The official said this is what went down, I said look at both sides. Nothing major, ” she said.
Clinging to a narrow lead, Hawaii opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 mini-run behind balanced scoring. Hawaii extended the lead to 57-49 as Olivia Davies hit two foul shots and scored on a backdoor pass from Atwell.
The lead was down to 57-53 when Imai returned. She sank a straightaway 3 and Meilani McBee followed with a clutch three-point play to open Hawaii’s lead to 63-55 with 3:31 left.
