HENDERSON, Nev.  – The  top-seeded University of Hawai'i women's basketball team captured the 2022 Hercules Tire Big West Tournament with a 59-48 win over  No. 2 seed UC Irvine in the title game Saturday at The Dollar Loan Center.
 
It capped a historic run by the 2021-22 squad who are the first Rainbow Wahine team to win both the regular-season and tournament titles in the same season, spanning more than 35 years of conference play. Overall it's UH's third-ever Big West Tournament title and first since 2016 as UH punched its ticket into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 'Bows (20-9) did it with a strong second-half performance. After trailing by five at half, UH used a 14-0  third-quarter run to take the lead for good. Tournament Amy Atwell scored all but two of her 13 points after the break, while Olivia Davies poured in a team-high 14 points, including a perfect 9-o-9 from the line. Daejah Phillips posted a near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
 
The first half was a defensive struggle. UH shot just 29 percent from the floor, including 0-of-9 from three-point territory. Atwell was limited to just two shots from the field. Despite all of that, the 'Bows trailed just 26-21 at the break.
 
But UH turned it on the third quarter with 14 unanswered points to take a 38-29 lead. The 'Bows built its lead to as many as 13 points, 49-36, on a trio of Atwell free throws with 6:53 left in the game and the Anteaters would get no closer than six points.
 
UH defeated the UCI (21-11) for the third time this season while ending the Anteaters six-game win streak. UH, meanwhile, has won eight straight games.  
 
The 'Bows will now await its place in the 68-field NCAA Tournament. The selection show will air Sunday at 2:00 p.m. HT on ESPN.