HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Erin Condron scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and UC San Diego took control in the second and beat Hawaii 60-48 in the Big West Conference championship on Saturday.
Makayla Rose scored 17 points for the second-seeded Tritons (24-8), who clinched the Big West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
It’s the fifth conference title for the Tritons during their 14-year tenure under head coach Heidi Vanderveer.
Bailey Flavell scored 13 points for fourth-seeded Hawaii (22-11).
After losing its first three games in conference play, the Rainbow Wahine went on a tear and entered Saturday’s game having won 16 of 17 games, including nine straight.
Down 28-20 at halftime, the Tritons outscored Hawaii 20-9 in the third and took a 40-37 lead with 16 seconds left in the quarter and led for the remainder. UC San Diego pulled away on 10-for-15 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Hawaii used a 7-0 run in the final 1:44 of the first quarter to go up 13-6 at the end of one. In the second, UC San Diego scored five straight to get within 17-16 before Hawaii closed the quarter outscoring the Tritons 11-4.
Hawaii led 26-16 with 2 1/2 minutes left before the break having shot 11 fewer attempts than the Tritons who were (19%) 6-of-32 shooting. But despite having outshot UC San Diego 43% to 23%., Hawaii led only 28-20.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
