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No. 9 seed CSU Bakersfield 61, No. 1 seed UC Irvine 59 (2OT)

Box score | CSUB presser | UCI presser
HENDERSON, Nev. - It took nearly three hours, but No. 9 seed CSU Bakersfield ultimately managed to outlast and eliminate top-seeded UC Irvine, 61-59 in double overtime, in the first quarterfinal of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands.

CSU Bakersfield, which had lost a season-high nine in a row entering this tournament, improves to 8-22. UC Irvine saw its seven-game win streak snapped, dropping to 24-6, and will await its WNIT fate as an automatic qualifier as the first-time Big West regular-season champion. The Anteaters’ most recent game was actually a title-clinching 59-48 victory in Bakersfield this past Saturday. They also took this season’s first matchup, 55-49 in Irvine on Dec. 31. UCI had won five straight meetings in all.

Late in the second overtime, Bakersfield product and first-year Grand Canyon transfer Taylor Caldwell’s baseline step-back jumper as the shot clock expired broke a 59-59 tie with 21.8 seconds left, and proved to finally be the game-winner.

Kayla Morris came out hot, connecting on a trio of jump shots, two from beyond the arc, to give CSU Bakersfield an early 8-3 advantage. Fellow third-year freshman Sophia Tougas’ right-wing triple, the guard’s fourth of the tourney, made it 18-9 approaching the two-minute mark.

UCI finished the quarter on a 7-0 run through a Nikki Tom three from the top of the key, a steal and fast-break Diaba Konate layup, and a finish down low by The Big West Best Sixth Player Nevaeh Parkinson, drawing a second start as a first-year ‘Eater transfer from New Mexico.

After three tie scores, UC Irvine finally took its first lead at 21-20 on an Nyagoa Gony free throw with 6:42 left in the half, but Garrisen Freeman answered right away with a three from the right wing.

CSUB took a 27-25 edge into halftime. UCI had a second-period scoreless stretch of 5:22 and missed 14 straight field goals with 8:27 between makes. The Roadrunners shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the field and made four of six three-point attempts.

UCI’s shooting woes continued into the third period, as it failed to score until Amelia Sharpf’s three-pointer from the top of the key with 5:14 to go. It was thus 31-28 in favor of CSUB at the media timeout.

That hit turned quickly into a 10-0 run that gave UC Irvine the lead back at 35-31 as CSUB called a timeout. Two Nikki Tom free throws preceded a pull-up jump shot in the lane by Déja Lee, and then a Tom steal and Lee triple on the other end with three minutes to go in the third.

The run was ultimately snapped at 13-0 after Lee split a pair from the stripe and Parkinson made a jumper off a Konate feed.

CSUB managed to pull back even at 45-45 and later 48-48. Nevaeh Dean and Morris then traded baskets with under a minute to go in regulation, the latter with 17.1 ticks left for 50-50. Caldwell blocked Sharpf’s three-point try, and Morris was unable to get a clean shot off as the game went into overtime.

Down 55-53 at the end of the first overtime period, Lee looked to have lost the dribble driving to the basket, but the ball bounded perfectly to Gony, who knocked down the baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded.

Caldwell finished with game highs of 19 points and six of CSUB’s 12 blocks. The fifth-year senior also dished out a team-best three assists. Morris provided 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from deep, and three blocks. Hennie van Schaik collected five points, a game-high 14 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Lee wound up with 18 points. Parkinson produced eight points, 12 rebounds and two assists before fouling out late in regulation. Konate had six points, eight boards, five assists and two steals. Gony joined Parkinson in double-figure rebounds with 10, and had four blocks.

CSUB advances into Friday’s first semifinal at noon PT on ESPN+ and SiriusXM, against the winner of Wednesday’s second quarterfinal between No. 4 UC Davis and No. 5 UC Santa Barbara.
 

No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara 70, No. 4 seed UC Davis 36

Box score | UCSB presser | UCD presser

HENDERSON, Nev. - Fifth seed UC Santa Barbara got off to a sizzling start and never looked back in overwhelming No. 4 UC Davis, 70-36, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, Wednesday at The Dollar Loan Center.

UCSB’s 20th victory of the season stopped a two-game mini-slide and moved its overall mark to 20-11. UC Davis, which had won its last three, sees its 2022-23 campaign conclude at 16-15. The teams split their regular-season series, each cruising by double figures on the road.

UC Santa Barbara sprinted out to a 28-10 advantage by the end of the first quarter, shooting 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field and making both three-pointers and all 12 free throw attempts. By contrast, UC Davis went just 3-of-16 from the floor for an 18.8 percent clip.

Ila Lane and Anya Choice were each 3-for-3 from the field individually for a game-high 10 and eight points, respectively, through 10 minutes.

The lead grew to 20 for the first time at 31-1 early in the second as Choice knocked down a pair of free throws. The bulge finally settled at 28 by halftime following back-to-back baskets by Alexis Tucker, like Lane a senior and All-Big West First Team honoree.

The second half began with a left-wing Alyssa Marin three-pointer, followed by a Taylor Mole steal and fast-break layup for 46-13. That burst made it a 13-0 run for the Gauchos around the interval, with a Tova Sabel free throw putting an end to it at the 7:37 mark.

Marin led four Gauchos in double-figure scoring with 15 points, going 3-for-5 from three-point range and adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lane and Tucker both in fact posted double-doubles, with 14 and 11 points, respectively, and 10 boards each. It was a third double-double this season for Tucker, with two now coming against the Aggies. Lane’s double-double was a league-best 11th. Choice had 12 points.

UC Davis junior guard Evanne Turner, The Big West’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game coming in, had 16 points. Sabel added 15 alongside a team-high seven rebounds.

UC Santa Barbara will next take on ninth-seeded CSU Bakersfield in the first semifinal this Friday afternoon, March 10, at noon. PT on ESPN+ and SiriusXM. 

 

No. 2 seed Long Beach State 55, No. 10 seed UC Riverside 49

Box score | LBSU presser | UCR presser
HENDERSON, Nev. - Down by nine, No. 2 seed Long Beach State began the fourth period on a 14-0 run and held off 10th-seeded upstart UC Riverside, 55-49, to begin Wednesday’s late quarterfinal session of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, inside The Dollar Loan Center.

With the result, Long Beach State improves to 23-8. The Beach had won 15 straight, the longest streak in The Big West this season, before dropping its regular-season finale on Saturday at home to UC Davis, 65-56. UCR’s season is done at 6-26. LBSU had taken both regular-season meetings by double digits.

The game fittingly began with a three-pointer from Long Beach State senior Tori Harris, named Monday as both The Big West Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. The Beach went scoreless, however, for the next 4:01 while Matehya Bryant tied it with a three-point play, before Harris produced an and-one play as well for a 6-3 lead at 5:42.

Harris went on to score the first eight Beach points, and 10 of their first 13. The Highlanders grabbed their first lead at 12-11 on a Bryant jumper at the 9:16 mark of the second period, however, and despite then going down 15-12, used a 10-0 run with six points from Anna Blount to gradually build up to a 24-17 halftime advantage. LBSU was scoreless for 4:41 during the stretch. The teams combined for just two free throws, with UCR holding advantages of 24-13 in rebounds and 10-1 in assists.

The third quarter started with a Jordan Webster triple for the first double-digit lead of the night, 27-17 in favor of upset-minded UCR. Following a Kianna Hamilton-Fisher bucket it was Webster again from the outside for a 30-19 bulge. The Highlanders held a 41-32 lead after 30 minutes.

The fourth began with three straight baskets inside by LBSU, with two by Hamilton-Fisher and the latter a three-point play to make it a 41-39 game. Malia Bambrick then rolled in a turnaround elbow jumper to tie the game, and after another UCR turnover, an almost identical shot by Bambrick extended the run to 11-0 and regained the lead for LBSU.

On the ensuing Beach possession, Bambrick found Courtney Murphy for a left-wing triple and 46-41. The run was finally halted at 14-0 by Bryant, but Murphy followed with another three-pointer for 49-43.

Long Beach State went without a field goal for the remaining 6:01, though, to enable CSUB to make things interesting. Back-to-back Bryant baskets made it a one-possession game at 51-49 as the clock wound down under a minute. Two Harris free throws made it 53-49 with 46.7 seconds left, and the Beach hung on.

Hamilton-Fisher put together an all-around stellar floor game with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Harris finished with a team-high 14 points and five boards. Bambrick produced 13 points, all in the second half. Murphy had 11 points with a game-high three triples.

Bryant wound up with a game-high 19 points, five rebounds and two assists, with Webster adding 12 points. Ryanne Walters had six points from two triples, to go with four boards, four assists and three steals.

LBSU advances into the second semifinal this Friday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m., against the winner of Wednesday's late quarterfinal between third-seeded defending champion Hawai’i and No. 6 Cal State Fullerton.
 

No. 3 seed Hawai'i 82, No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton 75 (2OT)

Box score | UH presser | CSF presser
HENDERSON, Nev. - A wild Wednesday at the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, ended the way it began, in double overtime, as third-seeded defending champion Hawai’i got past No. 6 Cal State Fullerton, 82-75, inside The Dollar Loan Center.

A third successive win and fifth over its last six moves Hawai’i to 16-14 overall. Cal State Fullerton, itself a winner of three in a row coming in, ends the season at 14-16. The Rainbow Wahine had swept the regular-season series, and has now won eight straight over the Titans in all.

The shot of the night came from Hawai’i third-year sophomore guard Meilani McBee at the end of the first overtime to keep hopes of a title repeat alive. Down 67-64, Daejah Phillips kicked the ball out to the right corner, and McBee drained a game-tying three-pointer.

A topsy-turvy second extra session saw UH go on a 7-0 run and go up 74-69, and still have to barely survive at the end from the charity stripe, with six Rainbow Wahine free throws clinching the result.

A tight first period ended with four straight Titan points for a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes. That run grew to 10-0 around the quarter break as the second stanza began with back-to-back threes by Ruby MacDonald and Fujika Nimmo, giving Cal State Fullerton a 23-13 lead. Two straight McBee triples for UH stopped the stretch.

MacDonald hit another right-wing triple for 28-21 midway through the second period, but the Rainbow Wahine battled back with a 10-0 stretch of their own. Sophomore point guard Lily Wahinekapu hit two free throws, then grabbed the defensive rebound on the ensuing empty Titan possession, drove down the middle and found a wide-open Ashley Thoms in the left corner for a game-tying three-pointer, 28-28. McBee then split a pair from the line and Nnenna Orji’s layup made it 31-28.

The half ultimately ended on a 12-2 Hawai’i stretch, taking a 33-30 lead into the locker rooms. In the third, Cal State Fullerton came back from a 39-32 deficit and regained a 42-41 edge when Nimmo rattled in a deep jumper. UH tallied the next five, however, with Wahinekapu’s third three-pointer of the night making it 46-42 for UH.

Tied 51-51 heading into the final four minutes, Hawai’i scored four straight through two more Wahinekapu free ones and a layup inside by Phillips off a nice feed by freshman Imani Perez. Cal State Fullerton would not go away, though, and Gabi Vidmar’s four clutch free throws late took the Titans into overtime.

Wahinekapu, an All-Big West First Team selection who was voted The Big West Freshman of the Year a season ago while at Cal State Fullerton before transferring to UH as a native of O’ahu, finished with team highs of 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. McBee provided 14 points, with Phillips (13) and Perez (11) also reaching double figures. Phillips made all eight free throws.

Ashlee Lewis wound up with game highs of 22 points, nine boards and two blocks for the Titans, going 8-of-12 from the field. Una Jovanovic added 16 points and five rebounds, with Nimmo collecting 15 points, a game-high eight assists, four boards and three steals. Vidmar contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Hawai’i moves on to face No. 2 seed Long Beach State in the late semifinal on Friday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m., on ESPN+ and SiriusXM.