ANAHEIM, CALIF. >> This time, incremental improvement is a welcome goal for Hawaii. The only way to go further in the Big West tournament would be to win the whole thing.

The Rainbow Wahine have been a top-three Big West seed in each of Laura Beeman’s four years as coach. The first year, UH was upset by Cal State Fullerton in its first game. The next, the Wahine won one but were bounced by Cal Poly in the semifinals.

Last season, top-seeded UH dominated the regular season, advanced to the championship game … and lost to Cal State Northridge 67-60 with an NCAA tournament ticket on the line.

“To be in the position to win it, that to me is something that we’ve done every year,” Beeman said. “And I want to continue to put these young ladies in that position, because if we are fortunate enough to win it, it will be a dream come true for some of these kids. This is what you play for.”

The 2015-16 Wahine (19-10) are playing well at the right time, having won nine of 10 to secure the second seed and a double bye into today’s semifinals. They play No. 3 Long Beach State (24-7), a program they swept home-and-home this season and have defeated six straight times overall.

UH’s game at the cavernous Honda Center takes place after top-seeded UC Riverside takes on No. 4 UC Davis in a 10 a.m. semifinal. Riverside is the tournament favorite as the first Big West team to sweep through the regular season (16-0) since UC Santa Barbara in 2001-02.

The Wahine were competitive in both matches with the Highlanders, but first must claim a third season victory over LBSU, a team hunting for its own tournament breakthrough.

UH, with its stable of bigs of Megan Huff, Kalei Adolpho, Connie Morris and Brianna Kennedy, has a significant size advantage over LBSU, leading to a 15-point average margin of victory in the regular-season series.

Destiny King (team highs of 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game) and Ashleigh Karaitiana also have that edge at their positions. King was named a Big West first-team selection this week, while Karaitiana and Huff made the second team.

Depth has been a season-long strength for the Wahine, who bring some of their best performers off the bench. Huff (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) won the Best Sixth Player award as the Big West’s top reserve.

“We have the confidence to go 13 deep and still come out with the win,” Karaitiana said. “I think that’s probably my favorite thing about this team, is that we don’t have to rely on one significant person. Anyone can show up on any given day. … I think having these bunch of girls and having so many different options to score and play defense and get stops, I think we have the best team.”

UH has outrebounded its opponents by an average margin of nearly 10 per game. It crushed LBSU in that area 52-29 at the Pyramid and 53-30 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“They definitely have a little bit of a personnel issue with us, but what they do defensively compensates for that,” Beeman said, “because they throw in a 1-2-2, a 1-2-1-1, a run-and-jump, a 1-3-1, a 2-3. You name it. Whatever zone there is, they’re going to run it. Then they put their pressure man on you. So, what they lack in size and depth they definitely compensate for in their defensive schemes.”

Guard Raven Benton (12.8 ppg) is the 49ers’ top threat, seventh in Big West scoring and a first-teamer. She hit the game-winner for a 54-52 decision over sixth-seeded Cal Poly on Wednesday, propelling The Beach into the semifinals.

LBSU’s Jewelyn Sawyer was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

“Everyone tells us we have no height, we’re undersized and have no post presence,” LBSU coach Jody Wynn told the Big West prior to the tournament. “We hear it every day almost. But it doesn’t really matter with our team. They get after it, it’s a very unselfish group and that’s a testament to their character.”

UH got in a practice at Hope International in Fullerton for a second straight day Thursday, then watched the UH men beat Cal State Fullerton in their first-round game at the Honda.

“We’re working hard. This is what we want,” Beeman said. “We don’t want to take steps backwards. That’s kind of been my theme since the day I walked in here. If you start at this level” — she raised a hand to eye level — “it’s not comfortable to go back down here,” lowering it to her waist.