By: Generated by uReport
FULLERTON, Calif. — Hope International claimed the 2026 GSAC women’s basketball championship in dramatic fashion Tuesday night, edging Arizona Christian 68-66 at Darling Pavilion on a go-ahead jumper by Dre Javier with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Javier scored the Royals’ final four points, first calmly knocking down two free throws with 16 seconds left to tie the game at 66, then burying the decisive jumper after Hope forced a stop on the ensuing possession. The finish capped a back-and-forth fourth quarter and secured the conference title for Hope International, which had to withstand a dominant performance from Arizona Christian’s Emily Till.
Till powered the Firestorm with 27 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes, nearly willing Arizona Christian to the championship. She scored six straight late points to swing the game in the Firestorm’s favor, driving for a layup to tie it at 64 with 2:24 to play, then hitting two free throws at the 2:02 mark to give Arizona Christian a 66-64 lead. Hope went scoreless for nearly two minutes before Javier’s late-game heroics turned the result.
Hope International built much of its margin behind the scoring of Nicole Chuang, who led all players with 29 points in 39 minutes. Chuang knocked down four 3-pointers, including a triple at the first-quarter buzzer that gave Hope a 17-15 lead after Arizona Christian had briefly surged ahead on back-to-back 3s from Addison Neal and Taylor Schwab. The Royals carried that momentum into the middle quarters, outscoring the Firestorm 23-19 in the second and 22-19 in the third to build what proved to be just enough cushion.
Team statistics underscored Hope’s narrow edge. The Royals shot 37.5% from the field (21 of 56) and 84% at the free-throw line (21 of 25), offsetting 20 turnovers with a 47-38 advantage on the boards and 19 assists. Arizona Christian finished at 34.3% from the floor (23 of 67), 29.4% from 3-point range (5 of 17) and 60% at the line (15 of 25). The Firestorm’s defensive pressure produced 12 steals, but they could not turn that activity into enough late offense after Hope tightened defensively in the closing minute.
Alongside Chuang and Javier, Hope also benefited from timely contributions from the supporting cast. Javier added 14 points and seven rebounds while playing 27 minutes, and the Royals’ size and activity inside helped them control the glass and limit Arizona Christian to one shot on several key fourth-quarter possessions. For the Firestorm, Schwab finished with 11 points and five rebounds, hitting two 3-pointers, while Till filled the box score with two assists, five steals and a block to go with her double-double.
Hope International led 40-34 at halftime and 62-53 late in the third quarter after two free throws by Aliyah Gonzalez, but Arizona Christian methodically chipped away, setting up a tense final sequence fitting of a championship setting. In front of an announced crowd of 100, and with officials Alicia Iwakiri, Josh Batin and Esther Hsu on the whistles, the Royals ultimately emerged with a two-point win, a GSAC tournament title and momentum heading into postseason play, while Arizona Christian exits with a narrow defeat and a standout performance from Till that kept the championship in doubt until the final seconds.