Some physical play by Cal State Northridge threatened to knock the Hawaii women’s basketball team off its midseason turnaround.

The Rainbow Wahine mustered the composure to play through it and pulled off a 64-55 win at CSUN’s Premier America Credit Union Arena on Saturday afternoon, registering their fourth straight win after dropping their first five Big West contests.

UH won by a nearly identical score (64-52) in another gritty game at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday.

The Wahine (10-9, 4-5 BWC) were outscored 20-3 in the second quarter and trailed by seven at intermission, but soundly outplayed the Matadors (6-12, 2-7) after the break.

UH held CSUN scoreless for nearly nine minutes bridging the third and fourth quarters, over which the Wahine went on a 17-0 run. A 9-0 spurt allowed them to put the game away.

Coach Laura Beeman told Spectrum News in a postgame phone interview that the officiating seemed to change in the second half to tamp down on the bully ball.

“I feel that really was the difference. We were able to get the ball across halfcourt with a lot more fluidity,” Beeman said.

“Inside touches allowed us to spray the ball out,” she said. “Our guards were able to handle the pressure a little bit better in the halfcourt. And this team just found another level — to get stops, to lock into offense. I definitely believe they believe in and are figuring out our process. We can’t play to result. We have to play to our process, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Freshman guard Bailey Flavell continued to soak up minutes and shots, finishing with 17 points in 38 minutes on Saturday. Forwards Saniyah Neverson and Imani Perez combined for 25 points and guard Keiara Curtis added nine, snapping an eight-game streak of double-figure scoring.

Beeman, who was proud of her young players for performing through travel fatigue, felt that UH’s current run of stronger play began two weeks ago, when UH lost 50-47 at conference leader UC Irvine.

UH hosts UCI (17-3, 8-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday with an opportunity to score its first win against a conference contender at the league midpoint. The Anteaters had their program-record 16-game winning streak snapped at home by UC San Diego, 68-66, on Saturday.

“I think this group is confident going into that game knowing we played so well at their place,” Beeman said. “This is the right time for this group to play consistently.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.