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A fluke? Channon Fluker will settle it one way or the other.
Hawaii’s follow-up to last week’s surprising win over UC Davis is a test against another preseason favorite today — Cal State Northridge and its bruising two-time conference player of the year.
UH coach Laura Beeman exhorted her team to rise to meet the physicality of the conference’s top rebounding team (and player) at practice this week.
The Matadors’ 6-foot-4 WNBA prospect averages 15.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. The senior succeeds with power as readily as Davis forward Morgan Bertsch does with grace.
“We have to be physical coming into this game. Fluker is their go-to,” said UH’s 6-4 center Lauren Rewers, who had the arena’s best view of her three times as a true freshman last season. “They have several other bigs. They play bigger, and they play the triple-post set that us posts have been working on. Just battling with each other, is what we can do best — keeping up the intensity.”
Fluker has been a human roadblock for the Wahine, ousting them in the past two Big West tournaments. The Matadors went all the way last spring, accomplishing the rare feat of winning four times in five days as one of the bottom four seeds in the tournament.
She always seems to bring her best to bear against UH. In eight career matchups, she’s averaged 26.3 points and 10.4 rebounds (210 points and 83 boards total), a considerable chunk of her career totals (1,862 and 1,248).
“What she’s done to Hawaii is what she does against everybody,” Beeman said. “She buries you. She gets depth, and if she gets depth, you can’t stop her. … We have to make her work outside the paint when it’s possible. It’s hard with someone so big and so talented.”
CSUN has won six of the past seven in the series. Defending regular-season champ UC Davis had won six straight against the Wahine, yet it was UH, sparked by point guard Tia Kanoa, that made the veteran plays late in that 65-60 victory on Saturday.
The Matadors lost Big West tournament MVP Tessa Boagni (graduation) from their frontcourt but have a stable of other capable bigs to call upon.
“Their whole team all around, especially with (sixth-year guard Serafina Maulupe) back, it’s definitely going to be another challenge,” said Kanoa, the reigning Big West player of the week. “It’ll be great to see our posts step up, because I know they will. And hopefully we’ll do well as guards to help them out a little bit in the post.”
UH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Today, 7 p.m., at Stan Sheriff Center
>> Cal State Northridge (7-9, 1-1 Big West) at Hawaii (5-10, 1-1)
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: KHKA, 1500-AM
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