Wahine hoops hitting road with renewed confidence

The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball team found the fight to get up off the Big West mat. Now, can they remain upright?

UH’s home win over Long Beach State on Saturday brought the Wahine out of last place and renewed a sense of purpose heading into this week’s two-game road trip to UC Riverside (today) and UC Irvine (Saturday).

“I think we felt we were down, and we kept getting kicked,” point guard Tia Kanoa said. “We were trying to fight back and it wasn’t working our way. So it feels great that we were able to come through it, work as a team and get that (74-66) dub.”

UH’s win over LBSU featured some chippy play and an unsportsmanlike foul on the 49ers, who now sit alone in last place (0-4).

Coach Laura Beeman was just fine with seeing her team get tangled up with a conference rival for the right reasons. Things were settled by the final horn; there were no hallway and locker room shenanigans ala the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers this week.

“You always want to see your team defend themselves,” Beeman said. “Most of my teams, when there’s some chippiness, they’ve had no problem stepping up for themselves and their teammates. And that’s the way I want it. For us to hold our composure and continue to execute, you don’t want the game to get out of control or out of hand, but you want your players to feel the confidence and the support of each other.”

Besides improving its conference standing, UH (8-9, 1-3 Big West) can set two meaningful milestones on this road trip if it is on its game.

Beeman, in her sixth year, sits on 98 Division I victories, all in Manoa. She can attain her 100th if UH sweeps the trip. Vince Goo is the only Wahine hoops coach to attain triple-digit victories (334).

And senior guard Sarah Toeaina stands at 950 career points, needing 50 to become the program’s 21st 1,000-point scorer. Toeaina (14.1 ppg) has gone for back-to-back 25-point games already this season, meaning she theoretically could hit the mark at Irvine. She scored 12 against the press-heavy Anteaters in a seven-point loss at the Stan Sheriff Center last Thursday.

First, UH must go through Riverside, which has won four straight over UH over the past two years after the Wahine took the first seven all-time meetings. The Highlanders (5-13, 2-2) feature two scoring guards in Michelle Curry (15.2 ppg) and Lauren Holt (12.9).

While Toeaina continues to operate almost exclusively inside, shooting 53.4 percent from the field, UH has increasingly gone to the 3-ball. Its two highest tallies from long range this season came in the past two games, 11 against Irvine and nine vs. the Beach. Lahni Salanoa tied Megan Tinnin’s single-game record for 3s attempted (Nov. 15, 2008 vs. Toledo) with 14 heaves against LBSU, making three.

The team’s recent emphasis? A quality look is a quality look, be it inside or out.

“The biggest thing, when we’re on the road especially, away from our home court, our fans, our refs, is being in control and making sure everything we do is a basketball move and purposeful,” said Kanoa, who is second in the BWC in assists at 4.9 per game.