HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team became regular season champs tonight for the first time since 2015 with a 58-52 win over UC Santa Barbara inside SimpliFi Arena.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (17-9, 13-3) pulled through in a game that came down to the final minute. The Gauchos (15-11, 9-8) enter the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed.
 
The 'Bows battled through a back and forth first quarter that ended with a 12-11 UH lead. The second quarter was another close one, but with 3:39, UH sparked a 9-2 run on freshman guard Olivia Davies three-pointer to go up 32-24 at the half.
 
The Wahine got off to a quick start out of the locker room by converting three straight baskets building the lead to 15. However, Santa Barbara did not go away quietly, and cut the lead down to nine at the end of the third.
 
In the final frame, Hawai'i maintained their nine-point advantage until the Gauchos scored going into the media timeout, trimming the lead to just seven. As the momentum started to shift and the gap further closed to just three with a minute left, non-other than graduate forward, Amy Atwell would bully her way inside the paint, score, and make it a two-possession game with :59 left. With the Gauchos in desperation mode, the defense stripped the ball away, and ran out the clock, making them regular-season champions.
 
It was a team effort as ten different players scored tonight. Davies paced the 'Bows in points with ten and was the only double-digit scorer in the contest for UH. Atwell was one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. She also set a new career-high in assists with five. Freshman guard Daejah Phillips had a quiet night after being forced out due to foul trouble early on, but down the stretch went 4-for-4 on free throws, including a pair to put the game out of reach. She finished with eight points and six rebounds on the night and the season clinching steal.
 
The difference-maker came in the depth Hawai'I's bench continues to provide, outscoring the Gauchos 27-8. The Wahine limited their turnovers to nine while forcing ten turnovers on steals alone.
 
The Rainbow Wahine enters the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed and will play at 10:00 am HT on Wednesday, March 9 in Henderson, Nev.