They’re in this one for the long haul.

Four games in 11 days on the mainland will transpire before the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine return home from their longest road trip of the season.

Second-place UH opens the odyssey today at Long Beach State. From there, the Wahine will go to Cal State Northridge on Saturday, then head up California’s Central Coast to play UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 6 and finish at first-place Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 8. That’s half of the season’s Big West road games in one package.

The task is met with a collective shrug by the Wahine, who have played disciplined, unselfish basketball in building a four-game winning streak, the program’s longest in seven years. Most recently, they thumped UC Irvine 85-59 at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday.

UH hadn’t posted a 4-1 or better conference start since Vince Goo’s 1999-00 edition.

"They are really playing well," UH coach Laura Beeman said. "They are putting some things together very quickly. I don’t think we’ve peaked. I think we still have room to grow. So going into this road trip with where we are, we couldn’t really be in a better place."

The Wahine went on three separate nonconference road trips to prepare for moments like these. They are 3-4 on the mainland this season, 1-0 in the Big West.

"We got to prepare like we’re at home, basically," sophomore Destiny King said. "The games are on the same days (of the week), so we’ve just got to keep focused. Our coach talks about, she’s going to be Professor Beeman or Professor (assistant coach Mary) Wooley because it’s going to be like we’re in class and have study hall and stuff like that. So it should be still the same."

If their proficiency at defense remains the same, the Wahine will be in good shape. They lead the league in scoring defense (63.9), field-goal percentage defense (.384), and rebounding margin (plus-5.6). Over their winning streak, UH has held opponents to 16.6 points below their season averages.

"We kind of found our chemistry as a team," senior guard Sydney Haydel said. "We’re close together on the court right now."

The versatile King has played exceptionally well lately; she was just about on pace for a triple-double at halftime against Irvine before finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Bench play has been a strength, too — five players scored in double figures in that one, including two reserves. Junior Ashleigh Karaitiana, a former starter, has settled into a productive backup role to help negate foul trouble. And senior center Pua Kailiawa scored 20 total points in last week’s homestand, doubling her season output. The 6-foot-2 Big Island native can shoot from outside and poses potential matchup problems for opposing post players.

"This is her senior year. It’s never too late to become something … on the court," Beeman said. "She has an opportunity to really have a fantastic senior year, and could be a sixth man of the year in the Big West if she continues to play the way she is."