With a nod to the past, the Hawaii women’s basketball team will try to forge a brighter future in the Big West Conference.

The Rainbow Wahine will attempt to win their third straight Big West game today and stay in the top half of the league standings when they take on Long Beach State. Preceding that, UH will hold its women’s hoops alumnae game at 2:30 p.m.

First-year coach Laura Beeman wanted to keep alive the annual exhibition that former coach Dana Takahara-Dias brought back three years ago.

"I think it’s a great thing. I think we’re trying to bridge the gap," Beeman said. "We have new faces, and some of the older girls don’t know any of the alumnae. So we want them to meet the older alumnae, the more recent alumnae. We just feel it’s really important to incorporate family into our program, and put faces to the names of the girls they’ve heard about. Let them know who you’re playing for, because you’re playing for the people who came before you."

Former Wahine great Nani Cockett, now a member of OC Sports’ broadcast team, will represent the alumnae as the game’s honorary captain.

UH assistant coach Gavin Petersen took command of the alumnae game and tried to round up as many former players as possible. About a dozen are slated to play in the 40-minute exhibition, with more on hand to watch.

"It’ll be interesting to see the past people who played here," freshman point guard Marissa Wimbley said. "It’ll be fun to watch with the team."

After that, it’s time to get down to business.

Long Beach State has the Big West Player of the Week in sophomore guard Alex Sanchez (11.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg). The 49ers operate a balanced attack compared to UH’s pound-it-inside approach. They have 94 3-pointers this season to 43 for the Wahine.

"On offense, they run a lot of different pro sets. … We’re going to see a good array of basketball tomorrow and we’re going to have to be ready for all of it," Beeman said.

UH will again operate through junior forward Kamilah Martin, who leads the team with averages of 15.1 points and 9.6 rebounds.

The Wahine have lately split point guard time almost evenly among senior Monica DeAngelis, Wimbley and junior Vicky Tagalicod. Another option is freshman Destiny King, who is coming off a shoulder injury.

It could be a meaningful game for King, a Long Beach native. Her older brother, Keala, plays for the 49ers’ men’s team. She was recruited by Long Beach State and knows Sanchez and several other members of the team.

"We’re just going to take it the same way we’d take any other team," King said. "It doesn’t matter who it is. We just need to prepare as a team and take each game at a time. It’s nothing different."