The Hawaii women’s basketball team gets one more crack at the Pac-12.
Thanks to a second straight bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, UH will play its fifth Pac-12 opponent of 2013-14 when it takes on Washington in Seattle on Friday.
The Rainbow Wahine went 1-3 against teams from that power conference during the nonconference portion of their schedule. They beat Washington State at home and lost to Arizona State, Oregon State and USC on the mainland.
UH coach Laura Beeman anticipated a return trip to the West Coast after her team lost 66-52 to Cal Poly in the Big West semifinals last Friday.
"Actually, Washington, Washington State were some of the teams we threw around as a coaching staff," UH coach Laura Beeman said. "Not surprised by it. They’re a very well-coached team, they have the (Pac-12) freshman of the year in (Kelsey Plum) on their squad."
The teams have identical overall records of 17-13. The Huskies went 9-5 at home and were the sixth-place team in their league.
"They’re very well-coached (by Mike Neighbors)," Beeman added. "We’ll probably see a combination of man and zone and they can shoot the ball very well."
It is Washington’s third straight WNIT appearance. The winner of the first-round matchup will face the survivor of Oregon and Pacific in the second round.
UH was sent to San Diego of the West Coast Conference in last year’s WNIT first round and lost 61-49. UH put in a bid to host a game this time, but there was no real expectation among Beeman’s staff that it was a realistic possibility.
"Unfortunately, I went into this knowing we would be on the road," she said.
Even before their invitation to the tournament was confirmed, the Wahine went back to work practicing on Monday morning. They were eager to get past the loss to Poly — the only other Big West team in the 64-team WNIT field — in which they shot 31.1 percent.
UH should have senior forward Kamilah Jackson closer to full strength. After missing seven straight games, she played 18 scoreless minutes off the bench against the Mustangs.
"I think the opportunity to play again as a unit, it always excites a team," Beeman said. "I do think the girls are looking forward to that and I also think they want to end on a little bit different note. They weren’t happy how we did against Cal Poly SLO."
The team will depart either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning for Seattle. The teams are tied 3-3 all-time, with UH winning the past three meetings. The last meeting came on Nov. 16, 2007, at the Stan Sheriff Center.