HONOLULU — Senior biomedical engineering major Morgan Bertsch finished with a game-high 29 points to pace three Aggies in double figures, but host Hawai'i rallied back from down nine points in the fourth quarter, closing on an 18-4 run to pull out a 65-60 victory over UC Davis in a Big West Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The loss ends a six-game winning streak for the Aggies, who fell to 9-6 overall and 1-1 in league play. Junior communication major Nina Bessolo added 11 points — including eight in the second quarter to power a rally that tied the game at the break — while junior biological sciences major Sophia Song added 10 third-quarter points.

Led by 19 points from Makenna Woodfolk and 15 more by Tia Kanoa — the latter adding eight rebounds and seven assists — the Rainbow Wahine improved to 5-10 overall and 1-1 in league play, finishing 18-of-22 from the line to only 10 attempts for the opposition.

UC Davis shot 42 percent from the field, including a 46 percent clip in the second half, while the defense limited Hawai'i to just 36 percent shooting overall, but nine three-pointers from the Rainbow Wahine kept the home team in the game as they rebounded from shooting 27 percent in the first half — including just 17 percent in the second quarter alone — to hit 50 percent from the field after the break.

Trailing by as many as nine points in the second quarter, the Aggies exploded for an 11-2 run to close the first half, helping in great part by Bessolo, who buried a pair of three-pointers — the latter making it a two-point game. Bertsch then answered a bucket by Kanoa to make it 24-22, and UC Davis converted a turnover into the tying basket as Karley Eaton found Bertsch streaking down the court to make it 24 all at the break.

Song scored the first basket out of the locker room to give the Aggies their first lead of the game and an 8-0 run to close the third quarter by UC Davis, started by Song and ended by Bessolo with her third three-pointer of the day, gave the Aggies a 46-41 advantage heading to the fourth.

A Bertsch three-pointer to open the final period extended the lead to eight points and another three-pointer — this one by Kourtney Eaton, who added seven assists and five rebounds in the game — gave UC Davis its largest lead of the day, 56-47, with 7:26 to play.

From there on out, it was all Hawai'i, however as the Rainbow Wahine used a 10-2 run to make it a one-point game and regained the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Leah Salanoa with 2:52 to play. Woodfolk added four more from the line to extend the Rainbow Wahine's advantage to five points with 14 seconds to play, but the Aggies weren't out of it quite yet.

Karley Eaton drew a foul on a three-point attempt with 12 seconds to play, making the first two before intentionally missing the third. The bounce was fortuitous, as freshman biological sciences major Kayla Konrad was in the right place at the right time to grab the rebound and find Kourtney Eaton at the right elbow. The senior psychology major launched a three-pointer that fell halfway down and would have tied the game, but the ball popped out at the last second as Kanoa grabbed the rebound and drew a foul, hitting the game's final two free throws to cap the scoring.

Bertsch tied her own school single-game record with 28 attempts en route to her 29 points, adding four rebounds, three blocks, and three steals in 32 minutes. It was the senior's 10th game of 20-or-more points this season and the 48th of her career, while extending her double-digit scoring streak to 50 consecutive contests dating back to last year, putting her just 32 points back of UC Riverside's Kemie Nkele for seventh on the Big West all-time scoring list.

Bessolo, meanwhile, tallied her eighth double-digit scoring performance of the year, while Song chalked up her third of the season.

UC Davis returns home for only the sixth time this season, hosting Cal State Fullerton on Thursday (Jan. 17) at 5 p.m., in the first game of a doubleheader with the men's team at The Pavilion. The Aggies then host league-leading UC Irvine on Saturday (Jan. 19) in a second doubleheader, this one tipping off at 2:30 p.m.

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.