Hawaii coach Laura Beeman exudes positivity when discussing her team’s outlook for the Big West women’s basketball tournament.
That is, except on the subject of the pre-travel testing protocol for the Rainbow Wahine.
“Our saying is ‘negative vibes,’ ” Beeman said prior to the team’s departure for Las Vegas on Monday.
The Wahine received confirmation that the required COVID-19 tests did come back negative as they prepared to leave campus, clearing them to embark on the next leg of a travel-intensive season, one they hope extends into the weekend and beyond.
Embedded in the tournament bubble in Las Vegas, the Wahine (8-7, 7-6 BWC) face fourth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield (9-8, 7-6) in a quarterfinal game at noon today at Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay. The survivor advances to face the winner of today’s 9 a.m. game between top-seeded UC Davis and No. 9 seed Cal State Fullerton.
Last year, the Wahine entered the Big West tournament as the fourth seed and routed Cal State Fullerton in the quarterfinals in an impressive performance that raised hopes of a deep run. But the tournament in Anaheim, Calif., was canceled the following day as the spread of COVID-19 shut down sports.
Just about 12 months later, Beeman leads a far younger roster back to the tournament in a different site and with heightened procedures. But she has a similar message for a team that closed the regular season by sweeping a two-game road series with third-seeded Long Beach State two weeks ago, then splitting with UC Davis at home last weekend, handing the Aggies their lone conference loss of the season.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever walked into a tournament and not felt like we were the team to beat, and that’s what I tried to instill with this team,” Beeman said. “We talked about right now no one in this tournament wants to face the University of Hawaii — I wouldn’t. That’s the confidence we have, that’s the momentum we built.”
Of UH’s active roster, only seniors Amy Atwell, UH’s leading scorer and an All-Big West second-team selection, and Jadynn Alexander, a member of the conference’s All-Defensive team, and sophomore forward Kasey Neubert played in last year’s Big West tournament.
As such, the Wahine lean heavily on several freshmen entering their first postseason, including starters Kelsie Imai and Olivia Davies, as well as Daejah Phillips, who was named the Big West’s Best Sixth Player on Monday. Imai and Phillips also earned spots on the All-Freshman team.
“I’m not going to call them vets, but they’re really able to have that next-play mentality and play at a level that we did not expect,” Beeman said of the freshman class. “The veteran leadership helps, but when you have a bunch of freshmen that aren’t afraid, that gives you a lot of comfort also.”
The newcomers got their introduction to Division I competition when UH opened its Big West schedule with a road series against CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 15 and 16. The Roadrunners swept the series by 64-57 and 51-43 scores.
CSUB forward Jayden Eggleston, an All-Big West second-team pick, leads the Roadrunners with 12.6 points per game and is second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game.
CSUB point guard Lexus Green led the Roadrunners with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range, in the first game against UH. Andie Easley, who began her college career at UH in 2015, scored 15 points with four 3-pointers in the rematch.
The Roadrunners haven’t played since a loss to UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 19. The second game of the series was canceled and the program paused activities.
“I’ve known (CSUB coach Greg McCall) for about 20 years. We faced each other when we were in the JUCO ranks,” Beeman said. “So they’re going to be prepared, they’re going to be ready to go. It definitely is a different team to a point, just like we are. I think we’ve probably had the most growth, if I can be a little biased, with our youth. They just needed experience in games.”
In the opening game of the women’s tournament on Tuesday, Cal State Fullerton, led by Hawaii Baptist Academy graduate Jeff Harada, rallied to a 55-51 win over UC Riverside and advanced to face UC Davis today.
BWC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
at Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
>> Who: Hawaii (8-7, 7-6 Big West) vs. CSU Bakersfield (9-8, 7-6)
>> When: Noon, today
>> Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
>> Live stream: ESPN3
