Rainbow Wahine fall to UC Davis in Big West semifinals

HENDERSON, NEV. >> The Hawaii women’s basketball team’s dream season suffered a nightmarish setback in a 51-48 loss to UC Davis in the semifinal round of the Big West Tournament today at the Dollar Loan Center.

Evanne Turner’s 3-pointer — UCD’s second of the final quarter — gave the Aggies a 49-48 lead with 56.6 seconds to play.

The Rainbow Wahine missed a chance to tie or regain the lead when guard Lily Wahinekapu, who entered hitting 70.2% from the line, missed two free throws with 10.6 seconds to play. UCD’s Megan Norris grabbed the rebound.

It took three fouls for the Aggies to reach the bonus. Mazatlan Harris was fouled with 6.6 seconds to play, and her two free throws completed the scoring.

UH forward Jacque David’s final shot was short as the final horn sounded.

The outcome ended the Wahine’s quest for a third consecutive Big West Tournament title and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“We picked a bad day to play bad basketball,” UH coach Laura Beeman said.

As the Big West’s regular-season champion, the Wahine will play in this coming week’s WNIT.

“We will recalibrate and we will be ready for the next tournament,” Beeman said.

The Aggies used a 27-6 run from the second quarter through 2:39 remaining in the third period to take a 37-24 lead.

But the Wahine chipped away, with MeiLani McBee hitting a 3 and David completing a three-point play.

UH trailed 39-32 when Kelsie Imai was fouled. She made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to six. Imai then stole a pass at halfcourt and fired to Ashley Thoms, whose 3 as the horn sounded closed the Wahine within 39-36.