The “storm before the calm” that is finals week has passed, yet Hawaii coach Laura Beeman anticipates hectic times ahead for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team.
Shortly after completing exams for the fall semester, the Rainbow Wahine boarded a flight to Northern California on Friday for a three-game road trip starting today at Sacramento State.
The Wahine also will face San Jose State on Tuesday before taking a four-day break to allow the players to spend Christmas with their families. They’ll re-connect in Los Angeles before closing the trip at CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 30.
“Still not an easy schedule as far as the amount of travel we’re doing right around Christmas,” Beeman said. “But at least they are home (for the holiday) and I think that really helps and we’re just continuing our journey to getting better going into conference.”
On the court, Beeman expects Sacramento State (2-6) to push a frantic pace as the Wahine (4-5) look to end a four-game losing streak in today’s 3 p.m. Hawaii time matchup at The Nest.
“We know we’re going to see full-court pressure the entire 40 minutes to try to turn us over and we’re going see very quick shots,” Beeman said of UH’s first regular-season game since an 82-41 loss to Texas A&M on Dec. 4 in Laie. The Wahine defeated BYU-Hawaii 68-57 in an exhibition game on Dec. 10 to break up the gap in the schedule.
Sacramento State leads the nation with 12 3-pointers made per game and averages just under 44 shots from beyond the arc, just over half of the Hornets’ total attempts. The Hornets broke an NCAA Division I record with 80 3-point attempts in a 117-99 loss at No. 17 California on Dec. 6 and are shooting 27.5 percent from long range.
Sacramento State also leads the nation with 14.5 steals per game and is third with 25 turnovers forced. On the other end, the Wahine average 19.4 turnovers per game, ranking them No. 300 in Division I.
San Jose State plays a similar style and to prepare for the pressure the UH coaching staff included 5-on-7 periods in practices before the trip.
Beeman said the drills help the Wahine “understand how to space out the court and stay calm. To get us to understand reads while under pressure.”
“We can’t turn the ball over and we can’t miss easy shots and that’s what we’ve been doing lately.”
The statistic Beeman is more concerned with improving is UH’s 38 percent shooting, including 20.2 percent from 3-point range (22-for-109).
“We’re trying do everything in practice to simulate game-like shots,” Beeman said. “We’ve been doing that all year, but we’ve really upped the volume on that.”
Just as attention to detail is often vital to preparing for final exams, the Wahine have focused on the little things on the court to address the issues that have arisen early in the season.
“That’s one of the biggest keys for us as a team, improving on details,” said senior Destiny King, who enters today’s game averaging a team-high 10 points per game. “If we can’t improve on details we can’t progress as a full team.”
Center Kalei Adolpho led UH in its last two games with 17 points against BYU and 12 against Texas A&M and averages 5.3 rebounds. The Wahine could get a boost in depth with the return of sophomore forward Dalayna Sampton and freshman guard/forward Lahni Salanoa from foot injuries.
Rainbow Wahine basketball
At Sacramento, Calif.
>> Hawaii vs. Sacramento State
>> When: Today, 3 p.m.
>> Where: The Nest
>> TV/Radio: none
