The Hawaii women’s basketball team looks to reverse trends of both the recent and distant kind with the launch of conference play today.
UH struggled through most of its 2018-19 nonconference slate at 4-9, showing a tendency to fold in close contests. It had eight of its 13 nonconference games decided by single digits, losing three of those by a point and winning another in overtime.
The Rainbow Wahine spent a few days at home coming off a 1-2 holiday road trip that was capped with a 79-78 overtime loss at Nevada.
“Obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, with the wins and losses, but I think we learned a lot,” said junior guard Julissa Tago, who erupted for all of her season-high 24 points after halftime in Reno. “With those close games, that just helps you down the road. With those, there were some we really could’ve got back, for the last one at least. But just moving forward I think it’ll help us a lot.”
UH’s difficulties in Big West openers — this year it gets Cal State Fullerton on the road — are well known. UH is just 1-5 in those games since rejoining the league in women’s basketball in 2012.
BIG WEST BASKETBALLat Titan Gym, Fullerton, Calif.
>> Who: Hawaii (4-9, 0-0 BWC) at Cal State Fullerton (8-5, 0-0)
>> When: Today, 4 p.m.
>> TV/Radio: None
>> Video streaming: Bigwest.tv
The Big West has been a struggle in general over the past two years.
The Wahine, a conference contender a few years ago, have trended downward since. They were 14-2 in the Big West in 2014-15; 12-4 in 2015-16 (when UH won the BWC tournament and went to the NCAAs); 7-9 in 2016-17; and 5-11 in 2017-18.
Seventh-year coach Laura Beeman lost All-BWC guard Sarah Toeaina to graduation and went to a by-committee approach. Forward Kenna Woodfolk (team highs of 12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg) has been the most consistent, but even she is coming off a scoreless game.
Beeman sees reason for hope.
“I definitely feel like the individual skill level has improved drastically,” she said. “You look at someone like a Tia (point guard Kanoa), Lauren (center Rewers), ‘J’ (Tago). I could go down the list. They’ve all improved their individual skill. What it comes down to for us is the consistency. And we have yet to play consistent basketball. Whether it’s we foul too much, we turn it over, we don’t get on the boards. We’ve always done something in this preseason that’s kept us from being over .500 or on the right side of the win column.”
UH’s league-leading accuracy on 3s (35.6 percent) and free throws (73.4) are the best things going. But as Beeman noted, the Wahine turn the ball over (16.8 per game) and commit fouls (nearly 20 per game) at some of the highest rates in the conference.
UC Irvine (10-2) got off to a 7-0 start and has paced the league thus far. The preseason favorites, UC Davis (8-5) and Cal State Northridge (6-8), had some non-league stumbles but remain strong contenders behind post players Morgan Bertsch and Channon Fluker. UH sees those two at home over the next two weeks.
“What I’m waiting to see is that we play consistent basketball,” Beeman said. “If we do that, then we’re as good as anybody in our conference. But I can only continue to say that. We have to show it. It doesn’t matter what I say. Hopefully we show up at Fullerton, that’s where our emphasis is, and then when we come back we’ve got a tall task ahead of us with Northridge and Davis.”
Fullerton (8-5), coached by Hawaii native and former Hawaii Pacific coach Jeff Harada, was picked to finish last among the league’s nine teams but has shown the potential to be better. UH was picked fifth and sixth in two polls.
“Jeff does a wonderful job with that program,” Beeman said. “They play hard and they execute.”
Senior center Daeja Smith (13.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg) has paced the Titans, who went 5-1 in December.
