Wahine have unfinished business

Target is opening two stores in Hawaii this week. A bigger target might be one traveling back to the mainland.

The Rainbow Wahine leave Wednesday for their final regular-season road trip, their first one as Big West basketball champions. Packing that bull’s-eye adds a little weight to their baggage as they head to last-place UC Santa Barbara, which was the last winless team in the country before coming up with two victories in its past three games.

"We don’t want to be that third (win)," Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said. "They’re not the wounded animal that we’ve talked about before.

"They’re playing well. They’re a team on the rise. And they’re a team we need to take serious, especially playing at their place. It’s not an easy trip, but it’s part of what you have to do if you want to win in the postseason. It’s a great test for when we get into the NCAAs."

While Hawaii has guaranteed itself a postseason berth by virtue of the regular-season title, the Rainbow Wahine don’t want to settle for a third consecutive appearance in the Women’s NIT. The goal set this season was the NCAA tournament and with Hawaii’s RPI currently at 64, likely the only way to get to "The Dance" for the first time since 1998 is to win the Big West tournament title.

"I don’t consider this as a conference championship yet," senior forward Shawlina Segovia said. "We still have some goals we need to meet. We feel good about winning the regular season, but we still have a lot more to take care of before I consider us champions."

For the first time this season when traveling for conference play, Hawaii will leave the day before a game. On their previous four trips to California, the Rainbow Wahine have left on the Tuesday prior to a Thursday contest.

"It comes down to budget and we’ve shot our team travel budget," Beeman said. "If you look at our record, anyone would say it’s been worth the price, getting that extra day in.

"But now we’ll be supplementing out of our foundation (money)."

After driving up to Santa Barbara Wednesday night, Hawaii will meet a UCSB team that is somewhat on a roll. The Gauchos kept alive their slim conference tournament hopes — eight of the nine teams qualify — by doubling up their win total within eight days.

UCSB followed up its Feb. 21 victory at Cal State Fullerton by splitting last week’s road trip — losing at UC Irvine, then stunning host UC Davis.

UC Davis was in contention for the conference crown before going into a freefall with three straight losses. The Aggies’ dive began after losing in the Stan Sheriff Center 62-60 on Feb. 21.

The Gauchos’ victory at The Pavilion snapped a 15-game road losing streak dating to last season. UCSB’s defense has led to recent success, allowing an average of 49.7 points in the past three outings.

Hawaii, which has won 12 straight, is giving up a league-best 54.2 ppg. The Rainbow Wahine also have a plus-12.9 rebounding margin in conference play; their plus-9.2 overall ranks them 16th nationally.

Hawaii returns to Honolulu on Friday and hosts Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, senior night for Segovia and guards Ashleigh Karaitiana, Shawna-Lei Kuehu and Morgan Mason. It also is a designated "White-Out" night, with fans asked to wear white.

Also on Saturday, the team is asking for donations of new or used sneakers of any size as part of its youth outreach program for Oahu’s homeless.