How to scout Hawaii this basketball season?
If it’s based on tapes from the past two road games, the answer is more of a question: How?
At UC Davis, the Rainbow Wahine scored from all parts of their game — 19 points off turnovers, 26 in the paint, 18 second-chance — in wearing down the Aggies 58-53. At UC Irvine, it was the unexpected but welcome revival of the 3-point shooting game (10 3-pointers), with three players burying three each when burying the Anteaters from the outside, 85-50.
BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.—Long Beach State (17-2, 4-1) at Hawaii (11-7, 3-2) and Saturday, 5 p.m.—CSUN (14-6, 4-2) at Hawaii (preceded by Rainbow Wahine alumnae game, 2 p.m.)
TV: Thursday only, OC Sports, Ch. 16
Radio: KHKA, 1500-AM
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What Hawaii needs this week is a combination of the grinding inside and the sharpness on the perimeter to go along with its defensive intensity when hosting two of the top teams in the Big West in Long Beach State and CSUN.
First up are the 49ers, who saw their 15-game win streak snapped at home Saturday by the Matadors, 67-52. The Beach’s only other loss was at home to USC in overtime, 90-85, on Nov. 21 and "they may be a little ticked off after losing," Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said.
"You can’t guess how they’ll come in, could go either way. But I thought (Long Beach State) was the lead horse from the beginning of the season. Their guard play is exceptional, their posts aren’t big, but they’re very good at what they do. They are a competitive, confident team."
There is a fine line between physical and aggressive play, and the two styles will clash Thursday on the Stan Sheriff Center court. The 49ers average a Big West best with 11.2 steals and 23.4 turnovers forced per game; the Wahine are third in steals (7.2) and averaging 14.8 turnovers forced.
Of concern to Hawaii are the sophomore guard tandem of Raven Benton and Anna Kim. Benton has scored in double figures in 11 games, including the past four, and is the 49ers’ leading scorer (11.8 ppg) and second top rebounder (5.6 rpg). Kim is hitting 42 percent from behind the arc and is tied with Benton in double-figure scoring games with 11.
Of concern to Long Beach State is its depth. The 49ers have just 11 players, which has led to game minutes being dispersed fairly equally — nine players average over 16 minutes — but it could become a problem if several players get into foul trouble.
Senior guard Alex Sanchez has been steady throughout her career and is just seven points away from becoming the 22nd in program history to reach 1,000 points. The milestone also is in reach for senior guard Lauren Spango, who is at 906 career points.
Both Long Beach State and CSUN are in travel mode. The 49ers come in Wednesday and leave Friday for Saturday’s contest at Cal State Fullerton; the Matadors host UC Riverside on Thursday, are at Hawaii on Saturday then at UC Davis on Thursday.
The Wahine are very happy to be at home for four straight — albeit tough — games. Next week, Hawaii hosts UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
"It’s not about going 2-0 this week, it’s about going 4-0 at home," said Wahine junior guard Destiny King, who grew up about 15 minutes away from the Long Beach State campus. "It’s a big week for us. We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
"I’m not surprised that Northridge beat Long Beach. Any team can beat any team in this conference. We’re not making one game bigger than the other this week. We want both."
This is the first meeting between the Wahine and the 49ers this season. Although The Beach has a 16-12 lead in the series, Hawaii has won four of the past five, with the only loss coming at The Walter Pyramid 74-72 in overtime.
Hawaii dropped a 53-46 decision at CSUN earlier this month, a game in which senior Shawna-Lei Kuehu, the team’s leading scorer, did not play.
"I feel our girls are confident about Northridge," Beeman said. "We know we didn’t play well there, we didn’t have Shawna, we had other health issues going on. And still we played them as close as we did.
"As I’ve said, it’s a big week for us."
And an emotional one, celebrating history. Saturday includes an alumnae game at 2 p.m. and the first-ever retiring of a jersey for a UH arena sport.
The jersey of the late Judy Mosley-McAfee will be hung in the arena Saturday with some of her family in attendance. Mosley-McAfee, who played for the Wahine from 1986 to 1990, still is the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. The UH Circle of Honor inductee died in 2013 at age 45 after a three-year battle with cancer.
