Battle-Tested ‘Bows Take Down Long Beach to Reach 2nd Straight Big West Title Game
BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAR 10, 2023
HENDERSON, Nev. — Two games. Two nail-biters. Two Big West Tournament wins for the Rainbow Wahine.
The 3-seed Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine took down 2-seed Long Beach State, 67-62, on Friday afternoon to advance to the program’s second straight Big West Tournament championship game.
Laura Beeman’s ‘Bows will now look for their second straight conference title in a Saturday duel with 5-seed UC Santa Barbara, who was a 75-66 winner in the day’s other semifinal matchup.
LET’S GO #HAWAIIWBB‼️ #BeatTheBeach pic.twitter.com/TNJsd7zB8f
— Ku'ulei (@KuuleiAgbayani) March 10, 2023
Battle of the Beach and the ‘Bows
The first half of the Big West’s second semifinal of Friday was one that resembled many of the matchups between Hawai’i and Long Beach State: hard-fought, physical and back-and-forth.
Five minutes into the contest and the two teams had combined for three made field goals and seven total points, as the Beach entered the game’s first media timeout with a 4-3 lead.
Though the ‘Bows dominated on the glass, LBSU won the turnover battle, 6-2, in the first quarter to hold a narrow one-point lead over Hawai’i after 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter was more of the same, as Hawai’i continued to out-rebound the Beach but succumb to the pressure of LBSU to the tune of 10 first half giveaways.
HALFTIME IN HENDERSON@HawaiiWBB - 21
— Paul Brecht (@12brecht) March 10, 2023
LBSU - 21
Back-and-forth first half as the Rainbow Wahine and Beach trade blows. Hawai’i out-rebounding LBSU by 10 at the break, but also have 10 first-half turnovers. #OnlyTheBold
With each team dominating in one area of the game, the two teams who played a 48-47 thriller back in mid-February looked even once again as they entered halftime knotted at 21 apiece.
To the credit of the Hawai’i defense, Big West Player of the Year Tori Harris managed just two first-half points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor. While the ‘Bows had struggled offensively, the defense was up to the task.
The Rainbow Wahine took control of the game in the third quarter, using three straight 3-pointers to take a six-point lead and force an LBSU-timeout with 5:44 left in the period. While the Beach was able to calm down, the offenses both woke up in the quarter.
9-0 run by the ‘Bows as Hawai’i drills three straight 3-pointers to roar ahead of the Beach, 34-28.
— Paul Brecht (@12brecht) March 10, 2023
Timeout, LBSU. 5:44 left in the 3rd as the Rainbow Wahine are on fire from deep. #GoBows #OnlyTheBold
Hawai’i entered the final 10 minutes leading by four, 46-42, and continued to play beautiful basketball through the quarter break to extend the lead to nine with under six minutes left in the fourth.
Once again, LBSU turned on the jets defensively.
A bucket followed by a steal and another score cut the Rainbow Wahine lead to three, but the calming force of All-Big West selection Lily Wahinekapu would help guide the ‘Bows through the final couple minutes of play.
The Beach would not go away, fighting to cut the deficit to three, 65-62, after a Courtney Murphy 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play.
Hawai’i advanced the ball to the front court with a timeout and Daejah Phillips closed out the win with a layup at the buzzer, sending the Rainbow Wahine to Saturday’s championship game against UC Santa Barbara following the 67-62 win.
HAWAII WINS‼️@HawaiiWBB tops LBSU 67-62 to advance to the BWC Championship and have a chance to go #Back2Back. pic.twitter.com/cJ6ripVHae
— Ku'ulei (@KuuleiAgbayani) March 11, 2023
Long Beach State was led by guard Kianna Hamilton-Fisher, who had 17 points while playing all 40 minutes of the game. Ma’Qhi Berry chipped in 13 points and six rebounds in the loss, as the Beach drops to 23-9 overall on the season.
Hawai’i was led once again by Wahinekapu, as the guard dropped 18 points to help propel her home school to the team’s second straight Big West title game and her first as a member of the Rainbow Wahine. Phillips filled up the box sheet with 14 points, four boards and four assists in the semifinal victory for the ‘Bows.
The ‘Bows are one win away from going dancing! @HawaiiWBB defeats @LBSUWBB after a battle! #OnlyTheBold x #GoBows
— The Big West (@BigWestSports) March 11, 2023
📸 @devynmb_ pic.twitter.com/ZbHtQSfbth
The Rainbow Wahine now take on 5-seeded UC Santa Barbara with a chance at the program’s fourth Big West title and second consecutive championship on the line. The two teams met just a week ago in Honolulu, when the ‘Bows used a hot Wahinekapu fourth quarter to beat the Gauchos in the regular season finale, 68-58.
All the feels! All the excitement!#GoBows #SISTAHHOOD
— Hawai‘i Women's Basketball (@HawaiiWBB) March 11, 2023
pic.twitter.com/r4yzQHOVft
Tip-off is at 1:00 PM HST and the game can be found streaming on ESPN+.
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