HENDERSON, Nev. — UC San Diego women’s basketball couldn’t buy a basket in the opening minutes Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum — but that didn’t last.
The Tritons started 2-for-8 from the field and missed 10 straight shots, but a strong second half carried them to a 60-48 victory over Hawai’i, securing their second consecutive Big West championship and a spot in March Madness.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” said UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer. “In the first half, we went into halftime like, ‘Where is our team?’ We were impostors in the first half. Sometimes when you want something so much, it’s just out of sorts. We had those 15 minutes to regroup, and we came out with a mission. We wanted to leave it all out on the floor for the 20 minutes remaining.”
Freshman guard Lev Feiman ended UC San Diego’s early dry spell with a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 6, but Hawai’i responded with a 7-0 run to take a 13-9 lead at quarter’s end. The Tritons ended the turbulent first, shooting just 4-of-19 and trailed 28-20 at halftime.
Hawai’i extended its lead to 32-21 early in the third, but UCSD answered quickly. A seven-point run, capped by a deep three from Rosa Smith, cut the deficit to four with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
UC San Diego’s defense forced six turnovers, and a putback from Dymonique Maxie tied the game at 34, jumpstarting a 6-0 run that gave the Tritons a 40-37 lead heading into the fourth.
Crucial to the comeback was a 14-6 rebounding advantage in the third over Hawai’i, the Big West’s top rebounding team.
The Tritons carried that momentum into the final quarter, hitting six of nine shots early to push the lead to 52-43 with just over five minutes left. Fatigue began to show for the Rainbow Wahine, who were playing their third game in as many days after two consecutive overtime contests.
The Tritons closed out on a 6-0 run to stretch the lead into double digits and secure the victory.
“The resiliency, the character, the grit, the determination — you can use all those words to put together a second half like no other,” VanDerveer said.
Six-foot-four post Erin Condron led UC San Diego with 22 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Makayla Rose added 17 points and eight boards. Along with Maxie, Condron and Rose each played all 40 minutes.
“In practice, we work really hard,” Rose said. “Over the summer, we did a lot of conditioning, and the coaches know how to prepare us to play that many minutes.”
Condron added, “A lot of it comes down to preparation. We work really hard in the preseason. We do a lot of running and know we want to play a fast-paced game, so that’s how we practice.”
With the Big West crown, UC San Diego improves to 24-8 overall, 17-3 in conference play, and a perfect 3-0 against Hawai’i.
The 14-seeded Tritons will face third-seeded TCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20 in Sacramento. Fans gathered Sunday evening for a free watch party inside LionTree Arena to watch the ESPN selection show live.
This marks UC San Diego’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the only two seasons the Tritons have been eligible for postseason play since moving up to Div. I.
“As an individual, it means nothing to me, honestly,” VanDerveer said. “The joy of watching young women set a goal and achieve a goal is phenomenal. It makes me so happy. I’d say proud, but it’s really happiness for them because this is something they can carry with them.”
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