Gavin Petersen gave it a moment’s thought.

"It’s going to be interesting," the Hawaii women’s basketball associate head coach said.

You got that right. Intertwined relationships abound when UH and Idaho meet in Western Athletic Conference play at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday.

At the top of the list is Petersen, a first-year member of Dana Takahara-Dias’ staff, going up against his friend and former boss, UI coach Jon Newlee. Newlee himself is a former three-year Rainbow Wahine assistant under Vince Goo.

"Not sure what type of emotions to expect, because this is the first time in my coaching career … going against people not only do you know, but care about," said Petersen, who was with Newlee for seven years at Idaho State and Idaho. "It’s going to be different. I cheer for the Vandals every game except for the two times we play them, and if we play a third time in the WAC tournament, then there will be a third time. But I still am close with them."

Petersen landed well in his return to UH in the offseason, taking over offensive planning and recruiting for the Wahine. UH (8-12, 3-2 WAC) now runs a very similar motion scheme to that of the rebuilding Vandals (5-16, 0-5).

The connections don’t stop there. UH sophomore guard Kanisha Bello was a Vandal her freshman year of 2009-10.

"I’ve been looking forward to this game for a good year and a half," Bello said. "It’s a huge game for me because I played there before. I want to just come out with a win."

UH is looking to shake off an 83-48 loss at Fresno State last Saturday and net its fourth win in five games. Idaho, despite its record, has been in just about every WAC game until the finish.

"Despite all of the different relationships that are involved here leading up to Thursday’s game, the bottom line is a very significant game for us as well as Idaho," Takahara-Dias said. "Friendship and longtime relationships over the years go out the window once we step onto the court and we tip off."

No kidding — Newlee has some history of getting fired up going against his old school. Last season after a physical Wahine win at the Sheriff, Newlee shook Takahara-Dias’ hand but sternly pointed a finger at her at the same time.

"It’s a hard trip," Newlee said in a UI release. "It’s a long way to get out there, and when you get there it’s a hard place to win. I know, I coached there for three years, I know how hard it is to win there and the toll it takes on you traveling out there, plus they are a very physical basketball team. You’ve just got to get mentally ready."

Petersen and his wife Karen Ada Petersen (also a former UI assistant) recently had a baby girl, Breagh, on Christmas Day. He wants to introduce the new family member to Newlee and the rest of the Vandals staff, which includes former Wahine player Christa (Brossman) Sanford, who was at UH from 2000 to ’02. He just didn’t know when.

"We’ll definitely make it a point to catch up," Petersen said.

Taking the reunion theme a step further, the annual Wahine alumnae game will be played on Saturday at 5 p.m. prior to UH’s game against Utah State.