Thursday was the first time this week the entire Hawaii women’s basketball team walked into Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.
The site of this year’s Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, which doubles as host site for the men’s tournament, was not available for any practice time for the Rainbow Wahine, who arrived in Nevada on Monday.
The team and coaching staff watched UC San Diego come back to beat Cal Poly 59-54 and lock up a spot opposite the Rainbow Wahine in today’s first semifinal at 9 a.m.
A week-long wait for the regular-season champions finally has come to an end. Hawaii (22-8) is two wins away from a third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four years.
“I think when we first got up here, it was just kind of, let’s take a deep breath, let’s celebrate all of the great things, we had some really good practices, but I think (Wednesday) evening and today I think they are very anxious to get on the court,” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said Thursday. “It is time. We have been through this bye situation recently. I think that it is in our favor, but it is time to get on the court and play some basketball.”
The Rainbow Wahine swept the season series against the Tritons (18-15). They squeezed out a two-point overtime victory on the road and then held UCSD to 23 points through three quarters of a five-point victory late last month that capped a 14-game winning streak.
UC San Diego sophomore guard Sumayah Sugapong, a first-team All-Big West selection, had 29 points and six steals in the Tritons’ second-round win over Cal Poly.
Hawaii held Sugapong to 12 points on 5-for-18 shooting and forced her into six turnovers before she fouled out in the last meeting.
UCSD shot 18% (9-for-50) over the first three quarters before making a late comeback.
“I think you have to put some pressure on (Sugapong) and make her take really tough shots,” Beeman said about slowing down the Tritons. “You can’t let other people off. We’re going to run some bodies at her, we’re going to continue to mix up coverages to keep her guessing, and you can’t lose (Sabrina) Ma, you can’t lose (Gracie) Gallegos, and you can’t lose Parker (Montgomery) in transition.”
UC San Diego completed a four-year transition period to earn Division I status prior to the 2024-25 academic year. Its victory over Cal Poly was its first in the conference tournament.
“We are super excited to be in the Big West Tournament for the first time,” UC San Diego coach Heidi VanDerveer said Thursday. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been (in this situation). I saw something in our team early about character and resiliency and determination and grit, and when the chips were down, they decided to step up.”
Hawaii has won five straight games against UC San Diego after losing the first three times the two teams played after the Tritons joined the Big West.
The Rainbow Wahine are playing in the semifinals of the conference tournament for a seventh consecutive season.
Ma, who was named the Big West Newcomer of the Year for the Tritons, ranks second in the conference in 3-pointers per game (2.22) and third in 3-point percentage (36.4%).
UCSD leads the conference in steals and turnovers forced per game.
BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
At Lee’s Family Forum, Henderson, Nev.
Today’s semifinals
(1) Hawaii (22-8) vs. (4) UC San Diego (18-15), 9 a.m.
(2) UC Irvine (21-9) vs. (3) UC Davis (20-11), 11:30 a.m.
Saturday’s championship
Semifinal winners, noon
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>> Stream: ESPN+ (all games)
>> Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM (Hawaii games only)
