FULLERTON, Calif. – Hawai'i senior Briana Harris scored a game-high 20 points helping lead the Rainbow Wahine to a 55-45 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night at Titan Gym in Big West Conference action.
Cal State Fullerton has now lost 10 consecutive games as the Titans fall to 4-23 on the season and 1-13 in Big West Conference play. With the win, Hawai'i improved to 10-17 overall and 6-9 in league action.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Fullerton still sits in ninth place in the Big West standings, trailing UC Irvine by one game. The top eight teams in the league advance to the conference tournament.
Harris added seven rebounds and knocked down four three-pointers for UH, while Sarah Toeaina and Olivia Crawford poured in 11 points apiece. Toeaina also dished a game-high five assists.
Sophomore center Daeja Smith led Cal State Fullerton with 16 points on an 8-of-10 night from the free-throw line, while China Henderson chipped in 11 for the Titans. In her last game at Titan Gym, senior Dhanyel Johnson led Fullerton with eight rebounds.
After trailing by one at the break, Fullerton was outscored 17-6 in the third quarter as Hawai'i built a 39-27 lead with 10 minutes to play. The Rainbow Wahine shot 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from the floor in the third, while Fullerton's six points were all scored by Smith, and as a team, the Titans made just 2-of-10 from the floor.
For the game, UH held a large 49-30 rebounding advantage, scoring 13 second-chance points. The Titans struggled from the floor shooting 26.7 percent (12-of-45), but Fullerton's defense forced Hawai'i into 14 turnovers while the Rainbow Wahine were held to a .317 (19-of-60) shooting percentage for the game.
Harris led all players with 11 points in the first half, including a lay-up with four seconds remaining in the second quarter that gave Hawai'i a 22-21 advantage at the break.
In the first 20 minutes, the six of seven Titans on the floor got on the scoreboard, while also forcing UH into nine turnovers leading to nine points for Fullerton.
Cal State Fullerton will end the regular season with two road games next week, traveling to Cal Poly for a 5 p.m. tip on Wednesday before Saturday's 6 p.m. game at UC Irvine.
Notes: Fullerton's streak of 172-plus minutes not holding a lead was ended when Jade Vega opened the game hitting a jumper to give the Titans a 2-0 advantage…UH leads the all-time series 21-15.
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