HONOLULU – UC Irvine women's basketball fought until the buzzer but was unable to erase a double-digit deficit late in the fourth quarter, falling to Hawai'i, 55-50, Thursday evening at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Anteaters (17-4, 8-2 Big West) were down by 12 with 1:24 remaining. With their backs against the wall, the 'Eaters put together a furious 10-2 rally, capped by a corner three from Shirel Nahum, to make it a four-point game, but time was not on their side as they couldn't get any closer in the final 25 seconds.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (11-9, 5-5 Big West) won their fifth game in a row.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Jada Wynn finished with a team-high 15 points and three assists. Freshman Nohe'alani Stores also went 5-for-7 from the field for 10 points.
 
Senior Hunter Hernandez added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Hernandez recorded her second-straight double-figure rebounding game, but saw a streak of 17 consecutive outings with 10+ points come to an end. Junior Shirel Nahum chipped in eight points and five boards.
 
UCI held a slight advantage in field goal percentage, going 18-for-55 (32.7%), while holding Hawai'i to 17-for-55 (30.9%). Both teams made six 3-pointers. The biggest discrepancy came at the free throw line where the Rainbow Wahine were 15-for-20 compared to 8-of-10 for the 'Eaters. The 'Bows also won the battle in rebounding (39-35) and turnovers forced (13-11).
 
Bailey Flavell paced UH with a game-high 18 points, all of which came in the second half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: It was a defensive battle from the get-go as both teams were forced into a turnover on their opening possession. Hawai'i then got on the board at the 8:37 mark, but a three-minute scoreless stretch for both sides followed. Hernandez was the first Anteater in the scoring column as she buried a triple to give UC Irvine a 3-2 lead. The Rainbow Wahine scored the next four points to reclaim the edge before the 'Eaters closed out the first quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a Lauryn Madsen 3-pointer, to go up, 10-6.
 
Stores started the second period with a layup to give UCI its largest lead of the game. UC Irvine stayed out front until the 'Bows went on a 6-1 spurt to tie it up at 15-all. Nahum put the visitors back on top with a pull-up jumper, but Imani Perez's layup in the final seconds brought UH back even at 17-17.
 
After trading buckets to start the third frame, Hawai'i created some separation, using a 9-1 run for a seven-point lead (30-23) with 2:15 remaining. Wynn ended a four-minute Anteater scoring drought with a couple free throws, but the 'Bows knocked down a trey to end the quarter with a 33-25 cushion.
 
Summah Hanson started the scoring in the fourth with a corner three. UH quickly responded with an and-1 on the other end. The seesaw battle continued until back-to-back 3-pointers started a 10-2 run that gave the Rainbow Wahine a 48-34 lead. Wynn then connected from downtown but Hawai'i maintained its double-digit margin over the next couple minutes.
 
UCI got it to an eight-point game (52-44) with a Wynn jumper at the 1:10 mark, followed by a steal and layup from Madsen. The 'Eaters continued to fight with a 6-0 spurt closing the gap to four with 25 seconds on the clock, but the 'Bows were able to hold on at the free throw line where they scored their final eight points of the game.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will be back on the road next Thursday, Feb. 5, when it heads to Cal State Bakersfield for a 6:30 p.m. Big West showdown.
 
NOTES
• The Anteaters' 25 points in the final 10 minutes matched their scoring total from the first three quarters combined.
• They were held to two single-digit scoring periods for just the second time this season.
• UC Irvine is now tied with UC Davis for second in the Big West standings, sitting one game behind UC San Diego (9-1).
• The low-scoring trend continued in the all-time series between UCI and UH as both teams were held to under 60 for the sixth-straight meeting.
• Nohe'alani Stores had her first double-digit scoring performance in Big West play.
• Stores is now tops on the squad in field goal percentage at 55.7%.
• Jada Wynn has made a 3-pointer in 19 consecutive games.
• Hunter Hernandez pulled down 10+ boards for the fourth time this season.
• Hernandez was one point shy of her second-straight double-double.