Sisterly love turns into sibling rivalry on Thursday for Shawlina Segovia. The Hawaii senior forward returns to her native Riverside, Calif., for an unofficial John W. North High School reunion that will take place about a mile down the I-215 from campus.

That’s where Segovia’s Big West-leading Rainbow Wahine (15-7, 7-2) face surprising UC Riverside (15-8, 6-3), which has risen from a last-place conference finish last season to currently be in a four-way tie for second, a game back of Hawaii. On the opposing bench at the SRC Arena will be three of Segovia’s high school teammates who played for the Huskies under legendary coach Leonard DeCoud: his daughter Simone, a sophomore guard; and junior guards Akilah Martin and Brittany Crain, the latter the reigning Big West player of the week.

"Me and Brittany, Akilah and Simone … we kind of grew up together around basketball," said Segovia, who was not recruited by UCR and spent two seasons at Mt. San Antonio College. "Brittany and I used to train together. We’re pretty close and she is someone I consider my sister.

"It’s all love between us. That’s family to me. But on the court, we are not family."

Hawaii coach Laura Beeman doesn’t expect it to be a distraction for the four Wahine players from the Southern California area: Segovia, senior guard Morgan Mason, junior guard Destiny King and sophomore guard Bri Harris.

"Our players are excited to see family but it’s not about the sentimental part of it," Beeman said. "What they want is to play well and show that they made the right choice in coming to Hawaii."

Beeman’s "in the moment" philosophy means the focus is on Thursday and not the seven-game winning streak. Hawaii can match its longest string since Jim Bolla’s 2006-07 squad won eight straight.

"I have no idea how many we’ve won," Segovia said. "I don’t think we’ve discussed it. We’re not thinking about it. We’re having fun, doing what we need to do and not worrying about the (number of) wins.

"This is a big game for us. It’s not about me going home. It’s about the team and staying focused."

That UC Riverside knocked off Long Beach State last Saturday caught Hawaii’s collective attention. Crain, whose great aunt is the legendary civil rights figure Rosa Parks, scored 27 points, including going 13-for-17 from the line, in the 80-74 victory over the 49ers.

It was Crain’s 32nd straight game scoring in double figures and it gave the Highlanders their fifth consecutive win. Crain leads the Big West in scoring (24.0 ppg), fourth best in the country.

UCR is healthier than when it lost in the Stan Sheriff Center 69-58 on Jan. 17. Back in the lineup is DeCoud, who is averaging 7.5 points and 3.0 steals in the past four games; the reigning Big West freshman of the year missed the six previous with an injury, including the UH contest.

Also looking fully recovered from an injury is junior guard Annelise Ito, who had 18 points and seven rebounds against Long Beach State. Ito scored 10 against the Wahine last month, eight coming on free throws.

"Riverside is playing well," Beeman said. "They know they can do something really special this year, turning it around the way they have with basically the same personnel. It speaks a lot about their growth in the offseason and about their confidence now.

"Are we where I thought we’d be at this point? It’s not about that right now. It’s about getting better so we can put ourselves in the position to win every time out. I appreciate what we have. I appreciate where we are. But definitely not satisfied."

Senior guard Ashleigh Karaitiana likely gets the starting job of guarding Crain or "the luxury" of doing so, according to Segovia.

"Most teams pay too much attention to (Crain)," Segovia added. "What works for us is that we’re more focused on us. As Coach Beeman says, we have to play our type of game."