Among the attributes Kallin Spiller brings to the court, perspective ranks among the most valuable these days.
Now in her sixth year of college basketball and her second as a University of Hawaii graduate student, Spiller can lean on her experiences in helping the Rainbow Wahine work through some early-season struggles.
“It’s been helpful for me personally to think about I’ve had six seasons of seeing teams’ ups and downs,” said Spiller, now in her second season as UH team captain. “But there’s always that next game, and there’s always that next chance to grow.”
UH enters the three-day Rainbow Wahine Shootout looking for their first win with a challenging weekend ahead. The Wahine (0-4) open the tournament today against Grambling State (1-4) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. A rematch with Florida Gulf Coast is set for Saturday and they close the event by taking on No. 2 Stanford on Sunday. All of UH’s games are scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
The Wahine dropped their first four games for the first time since 2018 and are coming off an overtime loss to Lipscomb on Sunday to close the Bank of Hawaii Classic. Although the Wahine enter the third week of the season searching for a breakthrough, the returnees carry the big-picture memory of turning last season’s 1-3 start in November into a run to the Big West championship and NCAA Tournament berth in March.
“After our game on Sunday I texted (the team) and reminded them, ‘Hey we are going to be ready for our Big West Conference games no matter what our record is,’ ” Spiller said. “We’re proven, we’re ready to go, we’re battling and we’re going to keep learning and growing together as long as we stay the course.”
Spiller’s college career stretches back to the 2017-18 season, and she’s playing with her third program. She began her career in her hometown at Seattle University, then moved across the country and earned a degree from Columbia before enrolling at UH last year as a graduate transfer.
The 6-foot-3 forward provided 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in UH’s title season as well as a presence in the locker room in her first season with the Wahine. This season, she shares captain duties with guards McKenna Haire and Olivia Davies.
“She is one of the leaders on our team for a reason,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “Coming in last year we needed a specific role from Kallin in our locker room and she knocked it out of the park. This year her role has changed where we need her to be a voice and a leader on the court and she’s doing a fabulous job.”
On the court, Spiller has posted double-digit rebounding totals in each of the past three games and enters the weekend second in the Big West with 9.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with six blocked shots, three coming against Lipscomb on Sunday.
On the offensive end, she’s averaging 6.3 points per game and has hit four 3-pointers.
Collectively, the Wahine continue to search for a rhythm in the midst of a challenging nonconference schedule.
“I’m really thankful our coaches have scheduled all these tough games in nonconference, because ultimately we’re going to be battle-tested and battle-ready for Big West,” Spiller said.
Rainbow Wahine Shootout
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
>> When: Today to Sunday
>> TV: UH-Stanford on Spectrum Sports (Sunday)
>> Radio: UH games on 1500-AM Today and Saturday, 1420-AM / 92.7-FM Sunday
>> Schedule: Today—Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 2 Stanford, noon; Grambling State vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m. Saturday—Stanford vs. Grambling State, noon; FGCU vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m. Sunday—FGCU vs. Grambling State, noon; Stanford vs. Hawaii, 2:30 p.m.
