Rainbow Wahine looking for a little luck

The Hawaii women’s basketball team hopes its two-game return to the Stan Sheriff Center serves as an exorcism of the demons that have haunted the Rainbow Wahine all season long.

UH (8-11 overall) has its worst six-game mark as a Big West Conference member, 1-5, going into today’s 7 p.m. game against Cal State Northridge. The Wahine, coming off a second straight winless road trip, are fighting to stay out of last place, and fighting just to qualify for the Big West tournament, a concern previously foreign to a Laura Beeman team.

The why of the Wahine’s struggles involves factors both internal and external.

“I think it’s tough. We don’t understand or can’t pinpoint what exactly is our downfall right now,” said senior captain Sarah Toeaina, who, on a positive note, is 10 points away from becoming the program’s 21st 1,000-point scorer.

“It’s one game turnovers, another game shooting percentage, another game free throws,” Toeaina said. “But I feel like we’re going to keep chipping away. If we continue to work hard like we have been … soon it’s going to click.”

On paper, UH has about as much talent as most of its conference peers, with Toeaina a driving force to go with a capable facilitator in Tia Kanoa, an all-around offensive threat in Julissa Tago, the sharpshooting Salanoa sisters and a rangy forward in Kenna Woodfolk.

In practice, Beeman has tried to simulate situations that have crippled her team at crucial times, such as missed box outs and relaxing of defensive stances leading to early foul trouble.

The team has taken off-court knocks, too. It started with the preseason defection of guard Olivia Crawford for personal reasons, coupled with the loss of forward Keleah-Aiko Koloi for undisclosed reasons. Post players Taylor Donohue and Mackenzie Clinch Hoycard have been hampered most of the season with injuries. In nonconference play, UH learned it would be without assistant coach Darron Larsen, its top offensive strategist, indefinitely because of a federal work visa issue. The team is still waiting to get him back.

Most recently, Beeman said, a woman tried to jump off a ledge at their team hotel last week while UH was playing (and losing) road games at UC Riverside and UC Irvine.

“Those things have followed us all season long,” Beeman said. “The missile warning. All these different crazy things. The girls actually looked at me after Saturday when this woman tried to, unfortunately, hurt herself — and thank goodness she did not — they looked at me and said, ‘Coach, when is this going to stop?’ ”

Beeman, who coached the Wahine to the Big West championship as recently as two years ago, acknowledged this season has taken its toll on her as well.

“I know I’ve woken up some mornings and thought, ‘what’s gonna happen today?’ ” she said.

Something, she said, besides pure basketball preparation is required for things to turn around with 10 conference regular-season games left.

“I’m not making excuses. I’m absolutely not. We have to play the hand we are dealt. I also am dealing with 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds who need a shot of good luck,” Beeman said.

“I’m hoping we get a shot of good luck because we have yet to have a shot of good luck. A part of winning in my opinion, from my 20-plus years, it’s more about luck than it is about teams and pieces coming together. Luck has a lot to do with your record. And right now we have had” — she laughed ruefully — “absolutely zero. So we need some luck.”

Today, UH faces the team that ended its 2016-17 season in the second round of the Big West tournament. CSUN (10-9, 3-2) features 6-foot-4 center Channon Fluker, the conference’s leading scorer (19.9), rebounder (11.7) and shot blocker (2.9). She recorded a triple-double in those stats (28-16-13) against Seattle University this season. Fluker had 39 points and 12 rebounds against UH last March.

On Saturday, as part of a UH women-men doubleheader, UH faces Riverside in a rematch of a 22-point rout at the Highlanders’ gym on Jan. 18.