All alone in first place in the Big West, the Hawaii women’s basketball team enters the toughest road trip of conference play with a chance to separate itself from everyone else.
The Rainbow Wahine (9-7, 6-1 Big West) will have to first get past a motivated UC Santa Barbara team that dropped out of the top spot after losing to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Not only are the Gauchos (12-6, 6-2) motivated coming off a loss, they also remember Hawaii’s 61-59 win in the Big West Tournament championship last year in which UCSB’s season ended after blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.
“I know where they are with us. We beat them last year in the championship down 15. I’m sure some of those players have had this game circled on their calendar,” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said Monday. “I know our girls have had it circled on the calendar. We have it circled not because of the intensity of the game as far as the standings, but we’re trying to get better and know Santa Barbara is a really good team.”
Hawaii currently sits a half-game ahead of the Gauchos and a full game in front of UC Irvine, which the Rainbow Wahine defeated on the road earlier this month, and Cal Poly, which UH plays Saturday.
Those are the only three teams with two losses as UH nears the midway point of the conference season after this weekend.
Hawaii welcomed back junior forward Jacque David last week from a knee injury that forced her out of action for nearly a full year.
David, who played a big part in Hawaii’s tournament run to a second straight conference championship last season, couldn’t have picked a better time to return.
UH played without center Brooklyn Rewers in both wins last week. Rewers was seen wearing a boot on her right foot during Saturday’s victory over UC San Diego.
No update was given on her condition, but in Rewers’ absence, David was able to play six minutes on Thursday and then logged 14 two nights later.
She was 3-for-4 from the field for seven points and four rebounds, but her presence as a big body in the middle of the paint was key for a UH team that Beeman called out in wanting to be more physical.
“Our bigs, I think, are going to be key (against UCSB),” Beeman said. “I don’t know who we are going into that game with yet, we’ll see. They are going to be key because we can either roll our bigs or pop our bigs because we have the luxury of having bigs that can do both.”
The Gauchos lead the Big West in scoring offensive at 68.7 points per game while UH ranks second in scoring defense at 55.8 ppg allowed. That number drops to 50.3 points per game surrendered in conference games.
Junior guard Lily Wahinekapu has started to get her shot to drop on offense, leading the team in scoring with 19 points against Long Beach State last Thursday and 16 against the Tritons.
She is the only Rainbow Wahine averaging double figures in scoring per game and needs just four points to reach 1,000 for her career, which includes her freshman season playing at Cal State Fullerton.
“It’s always just a goal of mine to get 1,000 coming in to play college basketball,” Wahinekapu said after Saturday’s win. “I would have liked to have it at home with my family there but all that matters is winning.”
Rainbow Wahine Basketball
Hawaii (9-7, 6-1 Big West) vs. UC Santa Barbara (12-6, 6-2)
>> Where: At The Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, Calif.
>> When: Today, 5 p.m.
>> Streaming: ESPN+
>> Radio: None
Hawaii at Cal Poly (9-8, 5-2)
>> Where: Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
>> When: Saturday, Noon
>> Streaming: ESPN+
>> Radio: None
