The numbers, impressive as they may be, won’t fully define the legacy of the seniors honored tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Over the past four years, the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team’s senior class contributed to 75 wins, three postseason appearances and a Big West regular-season championship. It includes two 1,000-point scorers.
Along the way, the group of six helped elevate expectations for the program.
“I look at this group of young ladies and they came in here immediately and said, ‘We’re not going to be mediocre. We’re not going to be just OK. We want to win,’ and they’ve maintained it year after year,” UH coach Laura Beeman said.
RAINBOW WAHINE BASKETBALL
At Stan Sheriff Center
Who: Cal Poly (14-14, 7-8 Big West) vs. Hawaii (18-10, 11-4)
TV: OC Sports
Radio: KHKA, 1500-AM
Notes: UH is holding its second Youth Outreach Sneaker Drive. Fans are encouraged to donate new or gently used sneakers to be donated to Youth Outreach, a program assisting at-risk and homeless youth. … The game has been designated a “white out.”
The class will make its final Sheriff Center appearance when the Rainbow Wahine (18-10, 11-4 Big West) close the regular season against Cal Poly (14-14, 7-8) at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH can finish second in the conference with a win and lock up a double bye in next week’s Big West tournament, giving it a pass into the semifinals.
“I’m very excited for it,” senior Destiny King said after UH’s 59-45 win over UC Santa Barbara on Thursday. “I’m focused on the game first and then it’ll probably hit me once the activities start.”
Once the buzzer sounds on senior night, the postgame festivities will focus on the class of King, Kalei Adolpho, Ashleigh Karaitiana, Brianna Kennedy, Connie Morris and Marissa Wimbley.
Karaitiana and Adolpho were already in the program when King and Wimbley signed with UH as part of Beeman’s first recruiting class. Morris and Kennedy, both centers, transferred last year after previous stops at Division I schools.
The four-year members broke in with Beeman when she took over the program in 2012 and this class represents a milestone in her coaching career.
“This was my first class of having a wonderful group of seniors in my life for four years,” said Beeman, who had two-year stints in her stops prior to moving to Hawaii. “What they’ve done for this program, what they’ve helped me do in my career, they will always be very, very special.”
King, UH’s leading scorer this season at 10.6 points per game, and Karaitiana (8.4) both joined the program’s 1,000-point club this season while starting all 28 games. Adolpho (7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) also earned a starting role at center this season after redshirting last year while finishing up her volleyball career.
Adolpho and Karaitiana have experience handling the emotion of senior nights. Adolpho went through her first with the volleyball team in 2014 and Karaitiana, a senior last year, was granted another season of eligibility last September.
“You have family coming in and school and we leave on Monday (for the tournament) and there’s all this stuff coming up. But keeping things in priority is what’s important,” Adolpho said.
Morris (6-foot-4) and Kennedy (6-3) are part of UH’s lengthy post rotation and the 5-foot-5 Wimbley has carved out a role as a 3-point threat and strong rebounder off the bench.
“It’s good to see how Hawaii plays team basketball. We all accept our roles and I couldn’t be any more happy with my role and where I’m at right now,” Wimbley said.
While King, Karaitiana, Wimbley and Adolpho have been in Manoa for four or five years, Morris and Kennedy meshed into the program over the last two.
“It’s been fun being here, being a part of this community, able to represent a state,” said Morris, who began her college career at Utah. “That’s something Coach Beeman always talks about. There’s no professional teams, there’s no other Division I and they look to you and you’re supposed to represent them. It’s a great place to finish.”
Kennedy sat out last year after coming over from Loyola Marymount and is listed as a junior. But with graduation approaching in May, she will depart with this class.
“I’ve never had a problem with being far from home, but it was harder at first than I expected,” said Kennedy, who played club basketball with King in high school. “But I think it’s just helped me grow as a person. The thing about Hawaii is the community and the fan base really gives you a sense of family.”
