Another Thursday, another duel for second in the Big West standings.

For the second straight week, a spot in the top-two in the conference will be on the line at the Stan Sheriff Center when the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team plays host to UC Davis on Thursday.

While UC Riverside remains the Big West front-runner at 10-0, Hawaii and UC Davis entered the week tied for second in the league race at 8-3 in conference play and 15-9 overall. With the top two teams in the regular season earning double byes into the Big West tournament semifinals, the mid-February matchup figures to impact their March fortunes.

“This is what championship basketball is,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “Every night you have to be ready, because everyone’s coming after you.”

A break in the conference schedule gave UH a full week to prepare for the Aggies after jumping over Long Beach State with a 60-42 home win last Thursday at the Sheriff Center.

The Wahine enter the matchup — dubbed a “Pink Out” and military appreciation night — on a five-game winning streak, while UC Davis has won three straight heading into their second meeting of the season.

The Aggies rallied past the Wahine 60-58 on Jan. 9 at the Pavilion in Davis, Calif., behind the post play of freshman Morgan Bertsch and senior Alyson Doherty. Bertsch finished the afternoon with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while Doherty added 16 points.

The Aggies ended up outscoring UH 32-6 in the paint and outrebounded the Wahine 35-28. The numbers of that afternoon remain a sore spot for the UH post players.

“When it came to winning time we couldn’t get stops, and that’s something that doesn’t normally happen to us,” Beeman said. “Thursday night is going to be a big game for our post players.

“You can show them a box score, you can show them the scout and they all look at all that … and they take that personal.”

UH forward Megan Huff is coming off her most productive game of the season after posting 18 points and 16 rebounds against LBSU to raise her season averages to 9.3 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game.

Bertsch continues to lead the Big West in shooting at just under 56 percent with Doherty fifth at 49.8. UC Davis also features the conference’s second-leading 3-point shooter in guard Pele Gianotti. The sophomore has made 54 3-pointers and is shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Collectively, the Aggies rank second in the league in field-goal percentage (44.5) and scoring (69 points per game).

UH, meanwhile, is holding opponents to 37 percent shooting and 59.3 points, also second in the Big West in both categories. All of which should add up to yet another tight battle in a series in which the past four meetings have been decided by five points or fewer.

“Every game with Davis comes down to the last few possessions,” Beeman said.