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ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Amy Atwell shoots the ball against UC Santa Barbara.
The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team captured the Big West regular-season championship tonight with a 58-52 win over UC Santa Barbara at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
A balanced offensive performance and a final defensive stop before a season-high crowd of 1,607 punctuated UH’s fifth regular-season conference title — fourth as a member of the Big West — and the first since the 2014-15 season.
The win gave UH graduate student Amy Atwell a title to celebrate prior to the postgame senior night ceremony.
The Rainbow Wahine forward finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and a career-high five assists in her final home game.
Guard Olivia Davies led the Wahine with 10 points and Ashley Thoms added nine as the Wahine held off a UCSB comeback to clinch the title.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii vs. UCSB
Hawaii 58, UC Santa Barbara 52, FINAL. @HawaiiWBB wins the @BigWestSports regular season championship and will be the top seed in the conference tournament. @StarAdvertiser pic.twitter.com/RzUNYJ20qI
— Jason Kaneshiro (@jasonkaneshiro) March 6, 2022
The Rainbow Wahine (17-9, 13-3 Big West) will open the Big West Tournament on Wednesday with a quarterfinal matchup at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. Their opponent will be determined in a first-round game on Tuesday.
UCSB guard Alexis Tucker led the Gauchos (15-11, 9-8) with 14 points and center Ila Lane added 11 points and 18 rebounds. Guard Danae Miller finished with 13 after hitting two late 3-pointers that helped UCSB cut a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to three with 1:27 left.
After UCSB closed to 52-49, the Wahine called a timeout and Atwell scored on a drive to stretch the lead back to five. She then came down with a defensive rebound and Davies hit two free throws with 26.8 seconds left.
After Miller drained another 3-pointer to cut the UH lead to 56-52 with 20.8 seconds left, UH guard Daejah Phillips drew a foul and made two more free throws. The Wahine came up with a stop and the ball ended up in Atwell’s hands. She dribbled out the clock to start the UH celebration.
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