A sense of cooperation led to an opportunity for some much-needed competition for the Hawaii and Cal State Bakersfield women’s basketball programs.
When Cal Poly announced it would cancel this week’s games due to COVID-19 issues, UH coach Laura Beeman contacted CSUB’s Greg McCall about adding a game to fill the gaps left by the Mustangs absence.
The Roadrunners, who were originally scheduled to play at Cal Poly on Tuesday, shuffled their travel plans to arrive in Honolulu in time to play a two-game series with the Wahine starting today at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
“They did need to rearrange some hotels and flights and we wanted to do everything we could to accommodate their willingness to come out and help us,” said Beeman, who has known McCall for close to two decades.
“There’s just a level of respect and mutual desire to get our kids playing and keep them happy and I’m just glad it worked out.”
Today’s meeting will be considered a nonconference game, at least for now, with Saturday’s game remaining a Big West contest.
The Roadrunners and Wahine are scheduled to meet a third time on Feb. 24 at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif. Beeman mentioned the possibility of today’s game counting as a Big West game in the event the California rematch is called off down the road. But she said the designation of today’s game won’t change the preparation or approach for the Wahine.
“I think the girls are going to look at it as a conference game just because it’s a conference opponent,” Beeman said, “I don’t think you can turn that off, nor do I want them to.”
Given the uncertainty in scheduling, any opportunity to get a game in is precious these days.
UH (5-7) had its first three Big West games called off before getting out to a 2-1 start to conference play. Even so, the Wahine have played a robust schedule compared to the Roadrunners.
CSU Bakersfield (1-8) has played just once since losing to Fresno State on Dec. 11. The Roadrunners’ lone contest in that span was a 59-42 defeat at Long Beach State on Jan. 1 in their only Big West game to date. Their last five conference games were canceled.
“We can’t underestimate them, they’re very well coached, they’re very athletic,” Beeman said. “I think the reason they’ve lost some games is they’ve had some players that have been in and out and just the uncertainty of their lineups. They’ve had a couple of weeks to practice. I know Greg’s going to have his team ready to go.”
Given CSUB’s limited schedule of late, Beeman said looking back at the Roadrunners’ tendencies last season will factor into this week’s scouting report. The Roadrunners swept their two-game homestand against the Wahine last season, when teams played back-to-back games. UH then ended CSUB’s season in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament in Las Vegas.
CSUB guard Andie Easley, who began her college career at UH, hit nine 3-pointers in three games against the Wahine last season. She leads the Roadrunners with 15 3-pointers this season and is second on the team with 7.6 points per game. CSUB guard/forward Jayden Eggleston ranks third in the Big West with 15.3 ppg and Beeman is wary of center Vanessa Austin’s physical presence in the paint.
UH super-senior Amy Atwell continues to lead the Big West with 18.8 points per game and is approaching multiple career milestones. She has 156 3-pointers and enters the week 11 away from catching Megan Tinnin for the school record. She is also 38 points away from joining the program’s 1,000-point club.
“It’s an absolute tribute to Amy’s commitment to her conditioning,” Beeman said. “She is being guarded in different ways every single night and she is finding a way to continue to score.”
Finding production elsewhere in the lineup is also a priority for the Wahine. Guard Meilani McBee went 5-for-8 from 3-point range and the Wahine shot a season-high 57% from the field in a 77-73 win at UC Irvine last Saturday.
“We need additional scorers other than Amy in order to be successful,” Beeman said. “We have been talking about that as a team from day one. I hope that seeing what we can do and how effective we can become when we are more well rounded motivated these guys to continue to get in the gym, continue to work, but also have the confidence to really just embrace their role.”
Big West women’s basketball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
CSU Bakersfield (1-8, 0-1 BWC) vs. Hawaii (5-7, 2-1)
>> When: Today and Saturday, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1500-AM
>> Note: Only Saturday’s game will count in the Big West standings
