There’s a big difference between heading out on the Western Athletic Conference road at 2-1 than 1-2.

A confident Hawaii women’s basketball team looks to build off a successful homestand when it meets Nevada today at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.

UH got blasted 83-67 in its previous WAC road trip to San Jose State, but coach Dana Takahara-Dias could sense a newfound aura about her team after home wins over Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State last week. The back-to-back wins, especially the 61-46 decision over LaTech (UH’s fourth in 28 meetings against the Lady Techsters) lent UH some swagger to go along with its first 2-1 start in WAC play since 2002-03.

"Oh, definitely. Whenever our team earns wins, it earns us a little more confidence every time," Takahara-Dias said on the phone from Reno. "I think it was timely in the sense that we needed two great games under our belt before we take on (more) road travel. Traveling is not easy in the WAC, so we have to make sure we have a little edge on our side."

UH had to change up its preparation for the Wolf Pack when several Rainbow Wahine players had difficulty breathing in the high altitude of Reno. UH was forced to ease its way into practice, but the coach was confident the mountain air wouldn’t affect the team at game time.

"Usually we’re very good at traveling, we make sure we drink a lot of liquids, but today (the players) had shared with us that there’s a little tightness," Takahara-Dias said. "We changed up a little at practice so they could get up and running …"

Against the struggling Pack, the Wahine have a realistic shot at their first 3-1 WAC start since 2001-02.

Takahara-Dias highlighted the wing matchup of Breanna Arbuckle and UN’s Kate Kevorken as key.

The 6-foot-1 Kevorken leads the Pack with 16.8 points per game and 38 3-pointers made.

Sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson continues to lead the Wahine with 14.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Her rebounding average and 10 double-doubles are WAC bests.

UH plays at WAC leader Fresno State on Saturday to complete the two-game trip.