Hawaii Pulls Away Late, Defeats CSUN 64-55

Saturday, January 24

Northridge, Calif

1:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

6-12,2-7Big West

Hawai'i

10-9,4-5Big West

Hawaii

CSUN

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

Hawaii Pulls Away Late, Defeats CSUN 64-55

1/24/2026 5:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif--- The CSUN women's basketball team (6-12, 2-7 Big West) was defeated by the Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine, 64-55 Saturday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. CSUN had a lead at halftime, but the Rainbow Wahine outscored the Matadors 42-26 in the second half to emerge victorious. Hawai'i went 15-16 from the foul stripe in the fourth quarter to seal the win. CSUN's Erika Aspajo scored a game-high 20 points to lead all scorers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Hawai'i jumped out to an early lead as the Rainbow Wahine started the game on an 11-4 run with four different players scoring baskets. CSUN responded with a mini 5-1 run capped off by a Morgan Edwards three-point bucket at the 1:32 mark. The Rainbow Wahine ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 19-9 lead after the first period.

In the second quarter, CSUN played one of its best quarters all season offensively and defensively. CSUN jumped all over Hawai'i, beginning the quarter on a 15-0 run, going 7-10 from the field as Aspajo contributed seven points. The 15-0 run gave CSUN a five-point lead at 24-19 with 4:21 remaining in the half. Hawai'i didn't score its first basket until there was 1:38 left on the clock, which was a three-point jumper from Imani Perez to cut the lead to two points. Aspajo responded with a layup and a free throw, giving her 14 points in just the first half alone. Mariona Cos-Morales added another layup of her own, giving CSUN a 29-22 lead heading into the intermission.

SECOND HALF
Hawai'i came out of the locker room with energy. CSUN did jump out to an early 5-3 run, but Hawai'i hung around. The Rainbow Wahine then went on a 12-5 run, cutting the lead to two at 39-37 with 1:29 left in the third. Hawai'i kept CSUN to only 10 points in the quarter as the score remained at 39-37 going into the final 10 minutes. Five different Hawai'i players made buckets in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Hawai'i opened the quarter on a 12-0 run with two shots from distance in the process as the Rainbow Wahine opened up a 10-point lead with 5:12 left. Jana Canadell, who had one of best games as a Matador, swished a layup to cut the lead to eight at 49-41 with 4:52 left. Aspajo then drilled a jump shot on the next possession to trim the lead to six as she made it a two-possession game. The game then went back and forth with both teams scoring five points each as time ticked down. Hawai'i then went on a 7-0 run with 41 seconds left in the game, with all the points coming from the charity stripe. The lead became too much for the Matadors to overcome, giving the Rainbow Wahine a victory.

NOTES OF THE GAME

Jite Gbemuotor registered her third career double-double and fourth double-digit rebound game, finishing with 10 points and 12 boards.
Aspajo's 20 points is a season-high for the senior from Spain.
Canadell saw a career-high in minutes with 28, and points with eight.
Hawai'i improves to 10-9 on the season and 4-5 in Big West play. The Rainbow Wahine have won four straight Big West games.
CSUN is now 6-12 and 2-7 in Big West play.
Mariona Cos-Morales had a career high five steals.
CSUN held Hawai'i to just three points in the third quarter, its best defensive quarter in a Big West game this season.

UP NEXT
CSUN has two road games next week. The Matadors travel to UC Davis on Thursday, Jan. 29 and UC San Diego Saturday, Jan. 31. Both games will stream live on ESPN+.

#GoMatadors