University of Hawaii first-year head coach Laura Beeman has seen most of the greats in women’s basketball.

Beeman and her players got a close-up look at whom she considers the most physically gifted player of her time Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center: 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner, three-time All-American and 2011-12 player of the year from defending national champion Baylor.

And the Rainbow Wahine didn’t blink.

They didn’t win, either. Didn’t come close. No one expected them to.

But how often does a team come out of a blowout defeat more confident than it was two hours prior, when the scoreboard displayed all zeros?

On this afternoon the Wahine did. Their heads were held high after, and not because, they were still looking up at Griner in disbelief of her combination of size and athletic skill.

Hawaii freshman guard Destiny King admitted to some very momentary nerves associated with being on the same court as the superstar she watched dominate last year on TV.

"Probably the first minute of the game," said King, who managed seven points, six rebounds, three assists and just one turnover. "It vanishes when you start playing because then you start competing."

Awe turned to ah, as in "Ah, I can keep her off the offensive glass," or "Ah, we can score from our offense with her on the court."

Yes, not enough times to make a game of it, but enough that Beeman felt the Wahine were in a better place after losing 77-42 than before it.

"I can’t be more proud of the way these young women buckled down and competed," she said. "The score is not indicative of the steps we made and the direction we’re going as a team."

Yes it is true that Baylor coach Kim Mulkey and Griner herself had a lot to do with her human-like numbers of 10 points and four rebounds, since Griner was in the game just 16 minutes and didn’t exactly attack the low post ferociously.

But Kamilah Martin and Stephanie Ricketts do deserve the credit bestowed upon them for the bagel in the offensive rebounds line next to Griner’s name. And it was good to see Martin has added an effective dribble-drive to complement her strong low-post game. She was team-high with 15 points and game-high with eight rebounds.

"It worked, so we kept going back to it," the junior center said. "Coach tells us if something works keep going back to it and keep executing."

Other parts of UH’s game were much less effective. And Baylor is much more than Griner, even without injured guard Odyssey Sims. The most noticeable differences were in taking care of the ball and from 3-point land.

"When you play a team like Baylor you have to be fundamental," Beeman said. "You have to stick to what works for your personnel and your team. For probably about 12 minutes today we did that. We’ll put 40 minutes together down the stretch in the Big West."

It was one of the better-sized crowds to see a Wahine basketball game in recent years, including many local high school players. It’s obvious Griner was the main draw. Beeman hopes the Wahine inspired them enough to return when the national champions are long gone.

"The other thing I would tell a young kid today is really embrace the moment you get to play the best players in the country. You never know what you’re going to find out about yourself. And these young ladies who play for Hawaii found out some great things about their resilience and ability to compete."

The Wahine are 1-3 and still have a long way to go. But this 35-point loss was a step in the right direction.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783