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| No. 3 seed Hawai'i 61, No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara 59 |
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HENDERSON, Nev. – No. 3 seed Hawai’i has been crowned The Big West champion in back-to-back fashion after mounting a second-half comeback that sent the crowd at The Dollar Loan Center into a celebration to remember after a 61-59 victory over fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara.
This marks Hawai’i’s fourth Big West Championship title, hoisting the trophy in 1996, 2016, and 2022, and UH will enjoy its eighth trip dancing in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship (1989, ’90, ’94, ’96, ’98, ’16, ’22, ’23).
The Rainbow Wahine fed on the energy of the crowd in a big second-half surge, as UH slowly chipped away at what was once a 15-point advantage for the Gauchos midway through the third quarter.
With just over two minutes to play in the third quarter, a steal for Tournament Most Valuable Player Daejah Phillips led to a three-point connection by sophomore Meilani McBee to set the score at 44-36 and cut the advantage to single digits for the first time since the 6:10 mark in the second quarter.
UCSB was able to extend its lead to 12 with 8:18 to play when Alexis Whitfield scored on the layup, but the Rainbow Wahine responded with gusto to close the game on a 22-8 run that included five made threes. UH shot 8-for-10 from the field in the final 7:56 to play and secured the lead on a driving layup from All-Tournament Team selection Lily Wahinekapu with 1:57 to play and the score 58-57 favoring the ’Bows.
A successful trip to the line for UC Santa Barbara senior Alexis Tucker gave the one-point advantage back to the Gauchos with 6.4 seconds remaining. After a pair of timeouts, Phillips executed the called play to perfection, slipping in for the and-one to seal a trip back to the NCAA Championship for Hawai’i. The Las Vegas native closed the contest with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting to earn the MVP nod. Wahinekapu also recorded a 19-point outing in the game with four assists and four rebounds.
Named to the All-Tournament Team for the Gauchos, Tucker led all scorers with 21 points and a 7-for-7 night from the line to go along with seven rebounds. Fellow senior Ila Lane added 12 and also earned tournament honors. UC Santa Barbara departs Henderson, Nev., with an overall record of 21-12 while Hawai’i moves to 18-14 on the year.
The Ranbow Wahine will learn their postseason destination on Selection Sunday, when the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship bracket is revealed on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. PT/2 p.m. HT.
Big West All-Tournament Team:
Taylor Caldwell, CSU Bakersfield
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher, Long Beach State
Ila Lane, UC Santa Barbara
Daejah Phillips, Hawai’i (MVP)
Alexis Tucker, UC Santa Barbara
Lily Wahinekapu, Hawai’i
Gallery: (3-11-2023) 2023 All-Tournament Team (WBB)