Hawaii’s personal Pac-12 challenge resumes today in Corvallis, Ore.
By the time Big West Conference play starts up next month, the Rainbow Wahine will have faced a third of the elite Pac-12 — three of those teams on the road. That already includes an 84-44 blowout loss at Arizona State in UH’s season opener on Nov. 9.
WAHINE BASKETBALL
>> Today: Hawaii (5-3) at Oregon State (5-2), 5:15 p.m.
>> Sunday: Hawaii at Pacific (4-3), 11 a.m.
>> TV/Radio: None.
>>Webcasts/livestats: osubeavers.com, pacifictigers.com |
On Sunday, the Wahine dance with old flames — a matchup at ex-Big West foe Pacific, where former UH assistant coach Gavin Petersen is a first-year assistant with the up-tempo Tigers.
After these two games, the Wahine return to the islands for final exams next week, then depart again for games at USC and new Division I school Grand Canyon as part of a road-ridden December.
"This is what we’ll see if we get to the NCAA," UH coach Laura Beeman said. "No different. It’ll be, play a game, get on the road, come home … crazy time of year. Prepare to play on the road versus bigger competition. As far as that goes, it’s just preparation for the future, where we’re trying to go."
UH beat the last Pac-12 team it faced, Washington State, 77-66, in its home opener. But Oregon State is a different beast with a
6-foot-6 center and three guards averaging double-figure scoring.
The Wahine will be undersized; they do not yet have the services of 6-2 junior center Kalei Adolpho. Although UH volleyball season came to an end against BYU in the second round of the NCAA tournament last weekend, the dual-sport athlete Adolpho did not accompany the hoops team on this road trip.
"Not yet. She needs some time mentally," Beeman said. "That was a tough defeat for them. I talked to her, she was disappointed, I was disappointed for her. She said, ‘Coach, physically I’m ready but mentally I need a break.’ … I kind of had anticipated we wouldn’t see her until the USC trip, if that."
These Wahine (5-3) are rested and raring to go. They’ve had 11 recovery days since their upset of Minnesota in the finale of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown, in which Shawna Kuehu banked in a 3 at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. UH outplayed the stunned Golden Gophers in the extra five minutes.
"Oh, guaranteed our confidence has gotten a big boost coming out of that weekend, versus Minnesota," Kuehu said. "But we don’t let it get to our heads too much, and we also don’t put ourselves down. We kind of stay level. That’s what Coach Beeman likes. But don’t get me wrong — it did boost a lot of confidence for not just us, but for the fans, for the coaches, our families and friends. That’s exactly what it’s done."
UH departed on Wednesday to San Francisco, its base of operations for this road trip, then flew up to Oregon on Thursday.
For OSU, it’s a rare doubleheader with the Beavers’ men’s team, which will play a rescheduled game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff prior to the women’s game. Thus, the women’s start time might be pushed back from the 5:15 p.m. (HST) scheduled tip-off at Gill Coliseum.
UH continues to rely on senior forward Kamilah Jackson (18.3 points per game, 10.9 rebounds per game), who has six straight double-doubles and needs one more for 50 for her decorated career.
Jackson needs 20 points to tie Lynette Liu for fourth on the UH career scoring list at 1,363 points. From there, the gap is more than 400 points to Raylene Howard at No. 3 (1,786).
