Honolulu— The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team fought back from a double-digit deficit to take the lead in the final moments of Wednesday night's game but fell short to UC Santa Barbara on a buzzer-beating jumper, 57-56 in front of a stunned crowd at the Stan Sheriff Center. 
 
The Rainbow Wahine (14-14, 8-7) trailed 49-39 with just under nine minutes left in regulation. Junior forward Amy Atwell provided a spark, scoring seven points over the next five and a half minutes, keeping the home squad within five. Behind the efforts of seniors Julissa Tago, Savannah Reier, and Courtney Middap, the lead kept dwindling as momentum swung back to UH.
 
Reier hit a three from the left corner, bringing the 'Bows with one, 53-52. The Gauchos (14-15, 9-7) answered with a bucket, Middap beat a defender, slashing to the basket to make it a one-point game again with 51 seconds left. Following a missed shot in the paint, UH rebounds, calls a timeout, and draws up a play for Tago. She attacks the left side of the basket, drawing a foul with nine seconds left to go. Tago drains both free throws to go up 56-55 for only the second lead of the game for the home team.
 
UCSB does the same as UH and calls a timeout for a final play. After two fouls and four seconds on the clock, UCSB inbounds the ball and goes to Danae Miller and she pulls up for a game-winning floater at the buzzer.
 
As a result, UCSB ends its regular season alone as the No. 2 seed in the Big West Conference standings, and UH drops to No. 4 after losing its fourth straight game, with one to go.
 
"Tonight was a tough one," said head coach Laura Beeman. "Teams know how to guard us now, and we have to make adjustments. Saturday is going to be a big day for us, and we need to correct ourselves before the tournament next week."
 
The first 20 minutes provided a back and forth feel, but the lead never changed as UCSB stayed ahead of the green and white, until the final seconds of the second quarter. Tago stepped up to drain a buzzer-beating three-point bucket, bringing the game to a stalemate at 26-26 at the halfway point.
 
The 'Bows took their first lead of the game at 28-27 in the third quarter, but UCSB answered with a 14 -5 run for a 41-33 advantage, leading to the same scoring margin between the two teams going into the fourth and final frame.
 
Tago and Atwell led the charge in the final quarter for the eventual loss, as each tallied 15 points apiece. Tago is now nine points away from scoring the 1,000th point of her career.
 
Points in the paint played a role in the Gauchos' success, outscoring UH 36-24, leaning heavily on freshman center Ila Lane and her game-high 20 point effort. Entering the night, UCSB ranked No. 2 in both offensive and defensive rebounding, but the 'Bows outworked them on the glass with a plus-two advantage at 30-28. 
 
The regular season will wrap up on Saturday with UH hosting Cal Poly at 7 p.m. HT. After the game,  Middap, Reier, and Tago will be recognized with senior night festivities. The game and the ceremony we be broadcast live on Spectrum Sports.