Amy Atwell went back to basics to work through a shaky start to the season.
As the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team’s top returning scorer, Atwell faced denial defenses in the season’s opening road trip and tallied a total of 15 points over two games.
Upon returning to campus, the Rainbow Wahine forward carved out extra time with assistant coach Alex Delanian to sharpen the fundamentals of her shot.
“It was a lot of footwork stuff, follow-through, just a lot of mechanical stuff and just reps and reps and reps,” Atwell said.
Atwell’s work outside of practice flowed into the top two scoring performances of her UH career and her first Big West Player of the Week award.
A hot start against Portland in UH’s home opener a week ago led to a career-high 30-point performance and the Wahine stayed with the Pilots through three quarters before falling 91-77. Two days later she poured in 29 points against Portland State, 18 coming in the first half, to help spark a 71-68 victory for UH’s first win of the season.
“It was much needed, long overdue,” Atwell said of the win capped by Meilani McBee’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. “It was a bit of a sigh of relief to get our first one on the board and use it as momentum to take into this weekend.”
Atwell had worked on mid-range shots with Delanian, and when those fell early she found her range from beyond the 3-point arc as well, going 8-for-16 from long distance in the tournament while shooting 56% from the field overall (23-for-41).
“Seeing your first few shots go in is definitely a confidence boost and gets your rhythm from there and just keeps building,” Atwell said. “Getting those few close ones definitely helps with the 3s falling.”
While Atwell set the pace for the UH offense on her way to Most Outstanding Player honors in the Bank of Hawaii Classic, UH coach Laura Beeman cited her preparation as an example for an otherwise young Wahine roster.
“They see your veteran out there getting it done and then the type of weekend she had, it only cements the fact that extra work matters and it pays off,” Beeman said.
Atwell boosted her scoring average to 18.5 points per game, the highest mark in the Big West, going into UH’s three-day Rainbow Wahine Showdown.
The tournament opens today with UH (1-3) taking on Eastern Illinois at 2:30 p.m. at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Wahine face Utah (4-0) on Saturday and Gonzaga (3-1) on Sunday, also scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
This week’s field makes for a challenging test for the Wahine, and the schedule serves as a taste of the pace they could face later in the spring.
“It definitely prepares you for what you’re going to see once you hit March and you get into the Big West tournament,” Beeman said of playing three games in three days.
“If you get a higher seed and you get those byes, that really helps. But if you don’t have that, you want to be in shape and you want to know how to do a scout one day after another.”
To that end, Beeman said the Wahine are taking a day-by-day approach to the weekend, with their concentration fixed on Eastern Illinois today.
“They transition very well, they play very aggressive,” Beeman said. “They’ve got all the pieces and they’re 4-0 right now, so they’re feeling good about where they are.”
Utah faces Gonzaga in today’s tournament opener at noon. Former UH assistant Gavin Petersen returns as Utah’s associate head coach.
Rainbow Wahine Showdown
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
>> When: Today-Sunday
>> TV: none
>> Radio: Today’s UH game on 1500-AM; Saturday and Sunday UH games on 1420-AM/92.7-FM
>> Tickets: etickethawaii.com
>> Entrance requirements: Proof of vaccination and health check on LumiSight UH app (available on Apple store, Google Play store, LumiSight UH website) . Masks required. Only clear bags allowed.
>> Schedule: Today—Utah vs. Gonzaga, noon; Eastern Illinois vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m. Saturday—Gonzaga vs. Eastern Illinois, noon; Utah vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday—Utah vs. Eastern Illinois, noon; Gonzaga vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m.
