No. 1 seed Hawaii ousted in Big West tournament on last-second shot
Sumayah Sugapong saved No. 4 seed UC San Diego from a furious Hawaii comeback, scoring the game-winner on a layup with 0.2 seconds remaining to send the Tritons into the final of the Big West Championship tournament with a 51-49 victory today at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.
The Tritons (19-15) couldn’t have imagined they would have been in that spot after outscoring the Rainbow Wahine 22-4 in the first quarter and taking an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Hawaii mounted an incredible rally and eventually tied the game on a 3-point play by Brooklyn Rewers with 1:10 remaining.
UH needed a 34-8 run going back to the end of the second quarter to tie the game at 49-all. Hawaii had a possession in the final 30 seconds to take its first lead but turned the ball over on a pass into the paint.
Sugapong took the inbounds pass from half-court and drove into the lane, finishing a tough layup with her left hand to win it.
Sugapong finished with a game-high 17 points on 8-for-19 shooting and played the entire game. UCSD guard Parker Montgomery added 16 points, all in the first half, to help the Tritons lead 41-18 at intermission.
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The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for UH over UCSD.
Lily Wahinekapu had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes to lead UH (22-9), which will play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament beginning Thursday. The selection show for the 32-team field is Sunday.
