HENDERSON, Nev. — Victories in back-to-back overtime thrillers earned the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team a place in the Credit Union 1 Big West Women's Basketball Championship final and a matchup with UC San Diego for the conference title.
 
The fourth-seeded Rainbow Wahine and second-seeded Tritons will meet for the Big West crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 14 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Pacific Time (noon Hawai'i Time).
 
The Rainbow Wahine (22-10) survived in overtime for a second straight day and advanced to the program's ninth Big West final with a 67-63 win over top-seeded UC Irvine in Friday's first semifinal. UC San Diego (23-8) held off UC Davis in the second game to finalize the title pairing.
 
UH is seeking the program's fifth Big West championship in its farewell game in the conference before departing for the Mountain West.
 

GAME 33: HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (22-10, 14-6 BIG WEST) vs. UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS (23-8, 17-3 BIG WEST)
Date | Time				Saturday, March 14, 2026  |  3:00 p.m. PDT (12:00 p.m. HT)
Location				Lee's Family Forum | Henderson, Nev.
Television				None
Live Stream				ESPN+
Radio				ESPN Honolulu
Live Stats				bigwest.org
Game Notes				Hawai'i

  HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 244-179 (14th season)

ROAD TO HENDERSON

• UH improved to 24-19 in the Big West Championship overall with Friday's win. The 'Bows are 4-4 all-time in the Big West Championship final, claiming the conference title in 1996, 2016, 2022 and 2023.
• UH is making its first appearance in the final since winning the second of back-to-back crowns in 2023.
• UH has won four Big West Championship titles, three under head coach Laura Beeman (2016, 2022, 2023) and one under Vince Goo (1996).
• UH senior Imani Perez and junior Jovi Lefotu are the only current UH players who were on the roster for the 2023 championship.
• UH and UC San Diego have met once in the Big West Championship. The Tritons defeated UH 51-49 win in the semifinals of last season's tournament. The Tritons went on to claim UCSD's first Big West Championship title and an NCAA Tournament berth in its first season of Division I postseason eligibility.

'BOWS NOTES

• UH extended the longest active winning streak in the Big West with its 10^th straight win on Friday.
• The 'Bows are in the midst of a remarkable turnaround in going 16-1 following a 6-9 start to the season overall and 0-5 in Big West play.
• The Rainbow Wahine have reached 22 wins for the 11^th time in program history and the third time under head coach Laura Beeman.
• UH's lone loss in the last 17 games came against UC San Diego on Feb. 7 in La Jolla, Calif.
• The Rainbow Wahine added six more blocked shots to their program single-season record on Friday and raised their total to an even 200 blocks this season.
• UH leads the Big West with 6.25 blocks per game. UH's rate of blocked shots also remains ahead of the program record of 5.6 set in the 2004-05 season.
• Freshman guard Bailey Flavell led UH with 13 points on Friday, including a tying 3-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation, and remains on track to become the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since the 2010-11 season with 12.6 points per game.
• Saniyah Neverson has surged late in her senior season, averaging a team-best 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds during UH's 10-game winning streak. She is shooting 56% from the field and is 10-for-20 from 3-point range over that span.
• Senior forward Imani Perez enters the game tied for seventh on UH's single-season list with 52 blocked shots. She ranks sixth in career blocks with 131, three away from moving into the top five. She hit three 3-pointers on Friday and is shooting a team-high 47.6% beyond the arc this season.
• UH's bench provided 31 points against UC Irvine, with Jovi Lefotu, Teyahna Bond and Ritorya Tamilo helping spark the 'Bows with nine points each.  

THE MATCHUP

UC San Diego Tritons
Series Record: UCSD 6-5
Streak: UCSD won 3
Last Meeting: UCSD 59-46; Feb. 7, 2026; La Jolla, Calif.

• Hawai'i and UC San Diego meet for the 12th time in a series that began in 2022.
• UCSD is the lone team to defeat UH in the last 17 games and was the only Big West team to sweep its regular-season series with the 'Bows this season.
• The Tritons won this season's first meeting 65-54 on Jan. 3 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Erin Condron scored a team-high 16 points and Rosa Smith and Sabrina Ma combined to hit seven 3-pointers. Keiara Curtis led UH with 13 points.
• In the rematch in La Jolla, the 'Bows took a 20-13 in the first quarter but UCSD outscored UH 27-11 over the second and third on the way to a 58-46 win. Makayla Rose scored 28 points for UCSD. Bailey Flavell led UH with 18 points.
• UH senior Izzy Forsyth played three seasons at UC San Diego and saw action in 85 games with 46 starts for the Tritons. She hit 62 3-pointers in her UCSD career and served as a team captain in the 2023-24 season.
• UCSD shared the Big West regular-season title with UC Irvine at 17-3 in conference play.
• UCSD head coach Heidi VanDerveer is in her 14th season at UCSD and has a record of 275-138. She has a total record of 383-219 over her 21-year career including stops at Occidental and Eastern Washington.
• Condron leads the Tritons with 15.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The junior leads the Big West in field-goal percentage at 54.2%.
• Rose was the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and has 97 steals.
• Dymonique Maxie leads the conference with 136 assists (4.5 per game).

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