IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball was unable to overcome an off-shooting night in a 56-49 setback to Hawai'i Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
It was a battle of the top-two defenses in the Big West as UCI entered tonight ranked first with 55.6 points allowed per game and UH a close second at 55.8 ppg.
 
Although the Anteaters (9-6, 3-1 Big West) held the Rainbow Wahine to under 60 points, they couldn't get much going offensively, shooting 33.3% (21-63) from the field and just 12.5% (3-24) from beyond the arc.
 
"Our shooting tonight is what really hurt us," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "You can't win games, especially against a team like Hawai'i, with the shooting percentage we had tonight. Credit to them for really taking us out of our system, but we have to find better ways."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Déja Lee finished with 15 points, five rebounds, five steals and a career-high nine assists, while committing only one turnover.
 
Senior Diaba Konate also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points on a 6-of-10 shooting performance. Konate added four boards and three steals. Senior Nevaeh Parkinson contributed six points and a team-best eight rebounds.
 
The Anteaters forced 18 turnovers with 14 steals, but scored only 11 points off those miscues.
 
The 'Bows shot 40.8% (20-49) overall and 40% (6-15) from distance. They also got to the free throw line nine more times than the 'Eaters. Imani Perez was a perfect 7-of-7 (3-3 3FG) for a game-high 17 points. MeiLani McBee also knocked down three triples and went 3-for-3 at the charity stripe for 12 points. Perez and Brooklyn Rewers each pulled down nine rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Hawai'i (7-6, 4-0 Big West) took an early 5-2 lead before a corner three from Shirel Nahum tied it up at the 5:56 mark. The Rainbow Wahine went back on top with a couple free throws, but UC Irvine closed out the first quarter on a 9-2 run, which ended with a Nikki Tom 3-pointer, for a 14-9 advantage.
 
The 'Bows scored the first six points of the second period to reclaim a 15-14 edge with 7:53 remaining. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba then got the Anteaters on the board with a driving layup, but the visitors went back on top on their next possession. UH stayed out front the rest of the half, taking a 20-18 lead into the locker room.
 
Hawai'i opened the third frame on a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 29-20, at the seven-minute mark. UCI then scored six-straight and extended that into a 12-5 spurt, capped by a Konate layup, to cut the deficit to 34-32 with 2:06 to go. McBee single-handedly put the Rainbow Wahine up by nine again with back-to-back triples, and drawing a foul on the second. The two sides traded buckets over the final minute as UH owned a 43-34 cushion at the end of the period.
 
The 'Bows struck first in the fourth quarter and maintained an 11-point lead until Lee scored five unanswered to make it 47-41 with 5:47 left. That was the closest the 'Eaters would get as Hawai'i came right back with a 7-2 rally to go up, 54-43, with 3:37 to go. UC Irvine held UH scoreless over the next three minutes but was unable to make up much ground as the Rainbow Wahine came away with the 56-49 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will be back in action next Thursday, Jan. 18, when it travels to La Jolla for a 7 p.m. Big West showdown at UC San Diego.
 
NOTES
• Hawai'i has held each of its first four Big West opponents to under 50 points.
• The Anteaters lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 2022.
• This was UCI's first home loss of the season (4-1), snapping a seven-game winning streak at the Bren.
• UC Irvine held its opponent to 60 points or less for the fifth-straight game and 11th time this season.
• Déja Lee has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last six contests.
• Lee also had her second-straight game with 5+ steals.