PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Yvonne Ejim scored the go-ahead basket inside with 12.4 seconds left and the Gonzaga women’s basketball team survived No. 23 Tennessee’s final possession to win 73-72 in Monday’s third-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Vols missed three shots on their last possession.
Ejim scored 20 of her 22 points after halftime to go with nine rebounds for the Zags (5-1), who closed a three-day stay in the Bahamas with two victories against ranked opponents. They upset then-No. 6 Louisville in Saturday’s first round before losing to Marquette in Sunday’s semifinals.
Ejim’s basket capped a fourth quarter in which neither team led by more than four points, though the Vols (2-4) came close to pulling this one out.
First Jasmine Powell attacked the paint but missed her drive, only to see teammate Jordan Horston grab the rebound. But she found herself with her back to the basket and being defended by two Gonzaga players.
Horston missed the contested turnaround, but Powell ripped the rebound out of the air away from Gonzaga’s Calli Stokes for one frantic final shot — but this one bounced off the rim as the horn sounded.
That sent Gonzaga’s players sprinting to midcourt to celebrate.
Horston finished with 19 points for Tennessee, which fell 12 spots in Monday’s new AP Top 25 poll after losing to now-No. 20 UCLA in Sunday’s semifinals. The Vols went 1-2 in their Atlantis appearance, falling to 2-4 for the first time since the 1981-82 season.
Kaylynne Truong scored 14 points and had six assists for Gonzaga and McKayla Williams added 12 points for 5-for-10 shooting. The Zags made eight three-pointers, compared with three for Tennessee.
In the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game, No. 20 UCLA beat Marquette 66-58 in overtime.
WSU beats Troy
LAIE, Hawaii — Washington State beat Troy 87-72 to take the title at the North Shore Showcase on Monday.
Brigham Young, WSU and Troy each finished 1-1 in the North Shore Showcase, and WSU (4-1 overall) took the tournament title based on best margin of victory.
Cougars center Bella Murekatete collected 22 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. Tara Wallack added 17 points and eight rebounds.
Charlisse Leger-Walker and Astera Tuhina added 14 points each.
WSU had a 56-39 rebounding edge and was aided by Troy’s cold 2-for-14 three-point shooting. The Cougars made 7 of 25 threes.
“I just loved the competitiveness and the toughness that we showed after coming off a disappointing loss to Brigham Young,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “It was like a brand-new team today. It was a team that was on edge that took the floor today.”