UC San Diego‘s Sumayah Sugapong hit the game winner with 0.2 seconds to play as the Tritons edged top-seeded Hawaii, 51-49, in its semifinal Friday.
It was a day of upsets at the Big West Championship. Playing in their first Division I postseason, the fourth-seeded Tritons (19-15, 13-7 Big West) will move on to the championship game to face the third seed, UC Davis. The Aggies beat the No. 2 seed, UC Irvine.
Tipoff for the title game is 3 p.m. Saturday.
UCSD fell to Hawaii (22-9, 16-4 Big West) twice this season, including a Jan. 30 loss, 65-63, in overtime. Sugapong had a chance to win it with two seconds left in regulation, but her layup then was off target.
She didn’t miss Friday.
“I really beat myself up after that layup, you know, having lost in overtime,” the sophomore guard said. “This one for sure felt really good, kind of the exact same shot, so, you know, really happy with it.”
The Tritons built a 27-point first half lead and just held on to advance to Saturday’s final. Sugapong finished with a game-high 17 points and Parker Montgomery added 16 in the win.
Montgomery scored the game’s first five points on a jumper and a corner three. The Tritons also limited UH to just one of its first six field goal tries with Gracie Gallegos grabbing four early rebounds.
Sugapong scored a pair of buckets and the Tritons led 11-4 at the game’s first media timeout.
When play resumed, after another Gallegos board, Montgomery knocked down a transition three to extend the lead. Erin Condron added a steal and a block – both leading to Triton baskets and a Hawaii timeout.
UCSD ended up on a 15-2 run on the way to a 22-4 lead after the first quarter. The Tritons had a 34-12 lead late in the second when Montgomery drained another triple – this one from the wing.
The UC San Diego contingent in Henderson, Nev. erupted as the Tritons went up by 25 with just over two minutes left on the clock. UCSD would take a 41-18 lead into halftime.
The Tritons’ stifling defense limited the Rainbow Wahine to just 5-of-29 shooting (17%) and a 1-for-15 pace from beyond the arc.
But Hawaii wasn’t done, shaving five points off the Triton lead in the third quarter before starting the fourth at a torrid pace.
The Rainbow Wahine scored the first 15 points of the period to cut the deficit to three, 47-44, with 2:30 to play.
“I have to give credit to our team for withstanding their runs,” said UCSD head coach Heidi Vanderveer.
A driving layup from Sugapong with 2:02 to play briefly stopped the momentum – in part, driven by Hawaii’s own fans – and gave UC San Diego a 49-44 lead. On the other end, Brooklyn Rewers converted a three-point play to tie the score at 49 in the final 90 seconds.
UCSD, though, prevented Hawaii from coming all the way back with Sugapong’s shot at the buzzer.
UC San Diego out-rebounded Hawaii 44-36. The Tritons are 12-2 this season when grabbing more rebounds than their opponent. Gallegos matched her season high with 10.
The Tritons also improved to 15-4 when leading at halftime.
UCSD split the season series against UC Davis (21-11, 13-7 Big West), including a loss in their final game of the regular season last weekend. The Triton plan heading into the title game?
“I think our approach is to come out the same way we did with Hawaii,” Montgomery said. “We have to hit first and not let up.”
