Rainbow Wahine hit the road again

The stretch bridging finals week and the holiday break can present a test of focus.

Having finished off the fall semester with exams this week, the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball team can devote its attention to a two-game road trip, starting with Saturday’s meeting with Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The Rainbow Wahine also play at Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday before much of the team disperses to spend Christmas with their families.

But first things first.

"It’s definitely a mental thing," UH senior Ashleigh Karaitiana said. "We have to know what we need to focus on, have the right mind frame in practice. We need to take care of business before anyone thinks about going home."

The Rainbow Wahine had a week between games since blowing past BYU Hawaii 92-40 to close a seven-game homestand at 5-4. But they didn’t have much time off in that span.

The Wahine left on the trip on Wednesday in the midst of finals week and the coaching staff made arrangements for the players to complete their exams in Los Angeles. The team took a similar trip last season and the Wahine went into the holidays with losses to USC and Grand Canyon.

"I’m hoping we come into this with a renewed energy," UH coach Laura Beeman. "We need to be able to close out going into Christmas we’ve yet to be able to do that. … So that’ll be another step and I think the girls are going to take that seriously."

UH swept its first road trip of the season, opening the schedule with wins at Colorado State at Denver a little more than a month ago. They’ll begin the second by facing LMU (2-7), which enters the game on a four-game losing streak following a 96-54 loss at USC on Thursday.

Cal State Bakersfield of the Western Athletic Conference has fared better at 7-3, including a win at Arizona.

"Both games are going to be challenging in different ways," Beeman said. "I think we’re going to see packed in zones against both of them and we’re going to have to be able to hit shots on the road."

The Wahine shot a season-high 62.3 percent in the win over BYUH with four UH players finishing in double figures.

Karaitiana shot just under 28 percent over the three previous games before going 5-for-8 against BYUH to extend her streak of double-digit scoring nights to nine with 11 points in just 14 minutes.

"I haven’t had a lot of confidence lately, missing a lot of shots in big games," Karaitiana said. "But the coaches have never had any doubt in my shot. They want me to keep shooting, they give me all the confidence I need. Same with the girls. They expect me to make them but as the same time they’re going to have my back."

UH senior Shawna-Lei Kuehu reached the 1,000-point mark against BYUH and leads the Wahine at 13.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Deanna Johnson leads four LMU players averaging double-digit scoring at 12.6 points per game.