BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — There would be no letup this time for the Hawaii women’s basketball team.
Unlike the last time the Rainbow Wahine entered a Big West game in sole possession of first place in the conference, the Wahine took care of business against a team in the bottom half of the standings with a 75-61 win at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday.
Forwards Amy Atwell and Daejah Phillips paced UH (14-9, 10-3 BWC) with 19 points apiece as the Wahine outclassed the Roadrunners (4-17, 3-9) from the field, 53.7% to 33.9%.
UH made it a three-game season sweep of CSUB including a nonconference game arranged on short notice between Wahine coach Laura Beeman and Runners coach Greg McCall on Jan. 20.
The teams’ previous meeting on Jan. 22 was a seven-point contest in which UH trailed at halftime and had to battle to regain the lead in the third quarter.
There would be no such trouble this time, as UH earned a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and held a commanding 35-19 advantage at intermission. The margin was 19 going to the fourth quarter.
Phillips shot 9-for-13 from the field on a series of weaving drives to the hoop and Atwell was her usual deadly self from long range, going 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. Point guard Kelsie Imai added 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting and center Nnenna Orji scored eight on 4-for-7 shooting.
There remains little margin for error if UH is to win a regular-season championship. UH’s closest competition in the standings, UC Irvine and Long Beach State, both eked out narrow wins on Thursday to remain percentage points behind UH at 11-4.
Last week, UH stumbled at home against UC San Diego on Thursday and had to reclaim first place with a head-to-head win over Irvine on Saturday.
Three games remain before the Big West tournament in Henderson, Nev., with Cal Poly (3-18, 2-10) up next in San Luis Obispo, Calif., at 2 p.m. Hawaii time on Saturday.