There was traffic at 4:30 p.m. Saturday heading up University Avenue toward Manoa. Most of it took a sharp right at Dole Street and slogged along through two ticket gates into the quarry.

Normally we all hate congested roadways, but this time you could smile about it. Yeah, there should’ve been a third gate available to eliminate the funnel effect, especially with a couple of other events going on at the University of Hawaii lower campus.

But the traffic meant the UH women’s basketball team was finally getting something closer to the kind of crowd a championship team on a 13-game winning streak deserves.

The 61-38 romp over Cal State Fullerton for Big West victory No. 14 turned out to be merely the opening act for the crowd of 3,491.

All senior aloha postgames at UH are special, but this one took it to another level.

Following some authentic haka and hula in honor of Ashleigh Karaitiana and Shawna-Lei Kuehu, amid tributes to them and fellow seniors Morgan Mason and Shawlina Segovia, the Wahine cut down the net.

Kuehu did it wearing even more lei than she’d received at her high school graduation.

“This time it wasn’t practice,” said coach Laura Beeman, who had her team snip the twine her first year, to give them that championship feel.

Yes, this time it’s for real.

This isn’t a flashy group, other than some of the athletic but functional moves from Kuehu. It’s a team built on a solid rock of defense, sharing and fundamentals.

They do little things right. They clear space on offense and defense without fouling. When they get the ball, they take the old triple-threat position seriously.

They are smart and strong. They look like weightlifters … because they are.

“Our strength and conditioning coach, Hank McDonald, is very good,” Beeman said. “It’s not easy to get women to lift.”

They are also incredibly balanced. Kuehu is clearly the leader, but on any given night anyone might fill the stat sheet. Saturday it was reserves Briana Harris and Dalayna Sampton with 10 points each and reserve guard Marissa Wimbley with five rebounds. Sure, some of that was a function of the game being a rout, but Sampton posted one more point than minutes played.

The UH defense was a constant. At one point midway through the second half, it seemed Fullerton hadn’t made a field goal since it had a football team.

“This team so deserved the big crowd because of the heart they play with and the passion,” said Nani Cockett, the star of the last Wahine hoops team to win the conference championship nearly two decades ago.

Then Cockett, now a TV analyst, pointed to the rafters and the banner honoring her team and those prior that appeared in the NCAA tournament.

“Let’s put ’14-’15 up there.”

Of course Beeman can’t promise she won’t leave for bigger money in a bigger conference someday. But she’s here and she’s brought hope to an athletic department where it has been in very short supply.

“I don’t know what my dream job is other than right here, right now,” she said. “(The crowd) put a smile on my face and a lump in my throat.”

It was all definitely worth a little bit of late Saturday afternoon traffic.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.