Cal Poly Women’s Basketball (13-10, 9-5 in Big West) traveled to the Stan Sheriff Center in Hawaii this Thursday, Feb. 15 to take on the Rainbow Wahine (14-9, 11-3 in Big West), looking to do something the program hasn’t been able to do since 2018 – beat Hawaii on the road.
The Mustangs streak would continue, however, as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Cal Poly by a final score of 59-47, with the loss also snapping the Mustangs’ three game win-streak.
The Mustangs were without head coach Shanele Stires, who missed her second straight game due to an undisclosed reason, with assistant coach Samba Johnson filling in as head coach once again.
In their matchup earlier this season, it was Hawaii’s Imani Perez who gave the Mustangs trouble, scoring a career-high 21 points in that battle.
This time around, Cal Poly did a much better job on Perez and held her to a mere five points.
Instead, it was Meilani Mcbee who gave the Mustangs trouble, as she scored a season-high 21 points, more than double her season average.
For Cal Poly, junior guard Annika Shah led the way with 14 points, scoring a trio of three-pointers, and two steals on the defensive side of the ball.
Redshirt freshman forward Sierra Lichtie would also pitch in with 11 points of her own, along with five rebounds.
The Mustangs found themselves down 22-28 heading into halftime after a back and forth first half that saw no lead greater than seven points.
After a Sidney Richards made layup and two free-throws from Lichtie to close the third, the deficit was cut down to three points.
Both teams would go back and forth for most of the fourth quarter, but it was with three minutes and 40 seconds remaining when Hawaii would take control of the game.
Sydney Bourland was charged with a reach-in foul, and after the play her frustration with the call earned her a technical foul.
The play would give Hawaii four consecutive free-throws and possession of the ball, and from that moment on the Rainbow Wahine outscored the Mustangs 12-3, securing their victory.
The Mustangs now have a whole week off, and will look to bounce back at home on Thursday, Feb. 22 when they take on the Cal State Fullerton Titans.