As much as coach Laura Beeman likes seeing Hawaii on top of the Big West women’s basketball standings, the numbers next to it are not what she’s concerned about.

Understanding what it takes to be the last team standing, as UH has been the last two seasons in winning the conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, the race Beeman is focused on doesn’t involve any other team.

That includes tonight’s opponent, UC Irvine, which won the regular season last year with a 16-2 mark and was regarded in the preseason as Hawaii’s biggest competition to a third straight conference title.

The chase Beeman concerns herself with every day involves only one team — and that’s her own.

“We’re not trying to catch anybody other than the University of Hawaii,” Beeman said Tuesday before the team departed Honolulu for this week’s two-game road trip. “That’s the gap we’re trying to close. From the team we are now to the team we want to be at the end of the season.”

Although the first three games of conference play couldn’t have gone much better with Hawaii (6-6, 3-0) atop the BWC as the only team without a loss, Beeman has a laundry list of areas the team can get better in, so much so that she even stopped herself midway through rattling each one off during her press session.

At the same time, there are plenty of positives. Hawaii’s 3-0 start in Big West play is its best since 2002 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.

UH is second in the conference and 43rd nationally allowing 55.8 points per game. UH has held its last three opponents to fewer than 50 points per game for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Offensively, UH has had different leading scorers in its last four games and seven different players have led the team in scoring in a game already this season.

“I think it’s fun for the girls that they don’t know on any given night who is going to have the hot hand or where we’re going to go with the ball,” Beeman said. “I think the girls absolutely love the opportunity that they can lead the team in scoring and lead the team in rebounding and lead the team in steals, and based on how they are playing that night is going to kind of determine how our rotation goes. I love it for them.”

Tonight’s game against the Anteaters (9-5, 3-1) at Bren Events Center at 4 p.m. Hawaii time is an opportunity for UH to beat a team it couldn’t last season.

UC Irvine won both regular-season meetings by a combined six points but did not play the Rainbow Wahine in the tournament.

The Anteaters, who with Hawaii are statistically the two best defensive teams in the conference, are coming off a 60-57 loss to UC Davis, which had lost its first two conference games.

“There’s always that energy that surrounds rankings, the energy that surrounds what happened last year with them winning conference the way they did (and) us winning the tournament the way we did,” Beeman said. “The one thing we’re not going to do is get wrapped up. We’re just not. If the girls have their own little push then we’ll take it but we’re just trying to play Hawaii basketball. We’re not looking at our record.”

If there is a number to use to motivate her team, Beeman noted that while Hawaii and UC Irvine were picked 1-2 in the Big West preseason coaches poll, three coaches picked UH to finish third despite its recent run of success.

“I just keep going back to three coaches voted us the third-place team. That’s all I go back to,” Beeman said. “For me there’s motivation in respect this program, respect our history, respect what we did last year, respect what we have coming back this year. I just take it a little bit offensive that somebody is going to vote us three. If at the end of the year we’re third then they obviously know more than I did. With what we’ve done the past few years and what we have coming back I was a little shocked by that.”

Hawaii will finish the week with a game Saturday at UC Riverside (6-8, 1-3).

Rainbow Wahine basketball

Hawaii (6-6, 3-0 Big West) vs. UC Irvine (9-5, 3-1)

>> Where: Bren Events Center, Irvine, Calif.

>> When: Today, 4 p.m Hawaii time

Hawaii vs. UC Riverside (6-8, 1-3)

>> Where: SRC Arena, Riverside, Calif.

>> When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

>> TV: ESPN+ (streaming both games)

>> Radio: None