Cal State Northridge Matadors at Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors

Northridge ends Hawaii's 15-game win streak in upset to earn NCAA bid

"The reason why everybody's up here is because this group became a team throughout the year, and everybody played a part out there on the floor today." coach Jason Flowers said, flanked by Ahlee Guay, Cinnamon Lister and Janae Sharpe following a 67-60 victory over top-seeded Hawaii on Saturday.

"Coming here last year and having the success we had brought on different challenges throughout this year. And through the thick and thin of it, these young women did what they were supposed to do and they paid the price."

Guay scored 22 points and Sharpe added 20 for the second-seeded Matadors (23-9), who gained an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. Guay again was selected as the Big West Tourney's MVP after Northridge extended its winning streak to nine games.

"This is the best team in school history. Period. And that's no disrespect to anybody else," Flowers said. "We respect the tradition of our program and we embrace it, but we've had more wins in our program in the last couple of years than ever before. This group of young women have worked their tails off. They've sacrificed, they've cried, they've bled, but they are standing here as the best team to ever play at Cal State Northridge."

Megan Huff had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Hawaii (23-8). The Rainbow Wahina had won 15 consecutive games since their previous loss, 53-46 at Northridge on Jan. 10.

Hawaii got to the title game with Friday's 73-64 win over Cal State Fullerton. The only time it won the Big West tournament was in 1996 with a 68-64 win over Pacific at Las Vegas.

Hawaii reduced an eight-point deficit to 45-42 with a 3-pointer by Ashleigh Karaitiana and a pair of free throws by Shawlina Segovia with 10:46 to play. Shawna-Lei Kuehu missed her first nine shots before making a layup that trimmed Northridge's lead to 54-48 with 5:29 remaining. But Sharpe helped put it away on a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, making it 64-54.

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How can I watch Matadors vs. Rainbow Warriors?

• TV Channel: Matadors vs Rainbow Warriors 2021 College Basketball, week 18, is broadcasted on .
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Venue: Honda Center

Location: Anaheim, CA
Attendance: 1,415 | Capacity: