The bus had just parked behind the Stan Sheriff Center when the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team’s next destination was revealed.

The team’s travel itinerary from Henderson, Nev., to Honolulu precluded the customary watch party for the NCAA Tournament selection show, which aired as the Rainbow Wahine were headed from the airport back to campus.

So it was on the bus staring into their phones that the Big West champions found out they would be heading to Waco, Texas, this week for the program’s seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016.

The Wahine (20-9) were slotted as the 15th-seed in the Wichita Region and will face second-seeded Baylor (27-6) on Friday at the Ferrell Center in Waco. The tip-off time had yet to be announced on Sunday.

“These guys let us know,” UH coach Laura Beeman said of learning of the assignment, nodding toward the players outside the bus.

“Super excited that we are still dancing. We’re going to be ready to play. We’re really excited about this obviously for the program, for the school, for the state of Hawaii.”

The 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket was announced just about 24 hours after the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine secured the Big West’s automatic berth with a 59-48 win over UC Irvine in the conference tournament final on Saturday at the Dollar Loan Center.

The win marked the first time in program history that the Wahine paired the Big West regular-season and tournament championships.

“You punch your ticket, it’s exactly what you play for,” Beeman said.

“What we talked about yesterday is we didn’t want to just get to the championship, we want to win the championship, we want to go dancing.”

Upon returning to Manoa, Beeman said the Wahine would take the rest of Sunday to savor the title and recharge before preparing to face fourth-ranked Baylor, which lost to Texas in the Big 12 final earlier in the day.

“We’re going to enjoy today,” Beeman said. “These guys need to go back to their apartments and dorms and get off their feet. They need to enjoy this moment and what they accomplished because it’s huge.”

In the wake of Saturday’s final, Beeman said she “woke up to 125 text messages and 75 emails this morning.”

“It puts that lump in your throat when you show up at the airport and people are there with lei and it’s an amazing feeling to represent this state and university,” she said.

UH graduate forward Amy Atwell returned for a sixth year for the opportunity awaiting this week in Waco. The Wahine made their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016 when they played at UCLA, the year before Atwell made the trip from Australia to join the program.

The closest she had come was in 2019 when the Wahine held a 17-point lead in the second half of the Big West final before falling to UC Davis. She’s still part of a group chat with teammates from that year who reached out with congratulations after Saturday’s breakthrough.

The Wahine had reached the semifinals in 2020 when the Big West Tournament was canceled in the early days of the pandemic and lost to UC Davis again in last year’s semifinal round.

“We’re on an eight-game win streak and playing some really good basketball,” Atwell, the Big West Player of the Year, said. “Obviously I came back to win a conference tournament. I’ve checked that box and now it’s just about moving forward and putting our best game together for Baylor.”

Although the Wahine will have another long day of travel to come, they will be in somewhat familiar surroundings in Waco. The design of the Stan Sheriff Center was based on Baylor’s Ferrell Center.

UH will face a Baylor team perhaps motivated by being denied a No. 1 seed in the bracket. The Bears won the program’s 12th straight Big 12 regular-season championship and have been a No. 2 seed or higher for the 11th straight year.

“This team has shown grit all year long,” Beeman said. “We have a lot of respect for Baylor, we will show them a lot of respect on the court. That’s what we’ve done all year long.”

The winner will face seventh-seeded Mississippi (23-6) or 10th-seeded South Dakota (27-5) in a second-round game on Sunday, March 20.

Hawaii and Baylor last met on Nov 18, 2012 when the Brittney Griner-led Bears routed the Wahine 77-42 at the Sheriff Center.

For the moment, were still trying to unpack the events of the previous 24 hours before thinking about heading back on the road.

“It’s still like a dream,” guard Olivia Davies said. “It’s a great experience.”