HENDERSON, Nev. >>Daejah Phillips completed a three-point play with 3.4 seconds left to boost the Hawaii women’s basketball team to a 61-59 victory over UC Santa Barbara and into the NCAA Tournament.

The Rainbow Wahine, who trailed by as many as 15, scored 11 of the game’s final 13 points to win the Big West Tournament for the second year in a row, as well as the accompanying berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“These kids are resilient,” said coach Laura Beeman, her eyes moistened with emotion. “They never stopped believing in each other. They never stopped believing in our process. And this is what happens.”

UCSB took a 59-58 lead when Alexis Tucker hit two free throws with 6.4 seconds to go.

UH called consecutive timeouts to set up the final play. Phillips drove the lane and hit a layup while being fouled by Alexis Whitfield. The free throw capped Phillips’ 11-point fourth quarter.

“We call Daejah ‘Big Dawg,’” guard Kelsie Imai said. “Daejah’s ready to play in any big moment. Big plays? That’s for ‘Big Dawg’ Daejah.”

Of the decisive play, Phillips said she was told by the coaches “they were going to overplay me, and slip to the basket. That’s exactly what I did, and it paid off.”

The outcome was sealed when Anya Choice’s shot would not fall as time expired, triggering the Wahine’s on-court celebration.

>> PHOTOS: UCSB vs. Hawaii

“I’m so happy we won,” said guard Lily Wahinekapu, who scored 19 points, including three 3s in the final quarter. “I can’t put it into words.”

With UH trailing 57-50, freshman post Imani Perez swished a 3 from the left corner. “I was yelling to her to get her shot ready because she was going to shoot it,” Beeman said of Perez, who attempted only 14 3-point shots in the previous 31 games. “

Perez said.: “If it’s open, I might as well shoot it. I’m shot ready. Been practicing the 3s. If I’m shot ready, I’m shot ready.”

Soon after, Perez got the ball in the lane and pitched it to Wahinekapu, whose 3 from the right corner closed it to 57-56 with 2:05 to play.

Wahinekapu’s layup off a drive gave the Wahine their first lead since 4-2, and sent up the final sequences.

After defeating Long Beach State in the semifinals, Beeman booked flights to Henderson for four injured players. “To have them experience this is phenomenal,” Beeman said.

Imai said: “It was all part of the plan. We knew if we were going to the championships, Coach B was going to fly out our injured players. I remember a couple weeks ago, when we had to find our focus, I told the team, ‘If we can’t play with them, let’s play for them.’”

The Rainbow Wahine will learn their NCAA Tournament opponent and game site Sunday. The selection show will air at 2 p.m. on ESPN.