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Justin Webster knows his sister is just a phone call away.
Lately, the calls between the University of Hawaii guard and his younger sibling, Jordan, a freshman on the UC Riverside women’s basketball team, provide mutual support amid their seasons of uncertainty.
“Even though she’s my little sister, she also teaches me a lot. I just try to stay in her head, try to keep her mentally strong,” Webster said.
“Their games got canceled, so she was a bit frustrated, so I told her that you just have to stick to work and keep on doing what you’re doing. … I’m always there for her and she’s always there for me.”
Justin Webster and his Rainbow Warrior teammates worked through an extended break after their Big West opening series was canceled and embarked Wednesday on their first road trip of the season to start conference play today and Saturday at UC Riverside’s SRC Arena.
Jordan Webster remained in California this week when the UCR women’s team’s trip to Hawaii was called off due to a COVID-19 issue within the Rainbow Wahine program. Instead, the UCR and UC Irvine set up a nonconference series in Irvine, Calif.
Such is life in the Big West — and college basketball — under COVID-19 conditions.
Cancellations have been regular occurrences through the first two weeks of the Big West men’s schedule. But the Rainbows (2-0) indeed departed for California and are slated to end a 20-day lull between games against an even more rested UC Riverside (3-1).
“As soon as we step on the court we’re going to know that it’s real and it’s go time,” Webster said.
After opening the season with wins over Division II Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo, the Rainbows were initially scheduled to open the conference schedule at home against Cal Poly before the Mustangs’ COVID-19 issues forced the series to be canceled.
The ’Bows had a regularly scheduled bye last weekend, leaving them with an extended stretch to prepare to face the Highlanders as well as the first of five scheduled ventures into California.
“We’ve had a lot of time to prepare for this and I know we’ve had a lot more collaboration with our medical team and our administration to make sure we’re keeping our guys as safe as possible,” UH coach Eran Ganot said.
On the court, Ganot said the ’Bows have tried to simulate game situations in practice to stay sharp and Webster noted improved chemistry since their 89-66 win over UH-Hilo on Dec. 19 at SimpliFi Arena.
UH post James Jean-Marie resumes his first season with the ’Bows’ as the team’s leading scorer at 16.5 points per game on 11-for-14 shooting. He’s also averaging a team-high eight rebounds per game after coming off the bench in both games. Webster is next on the scoring list at 13.5 ppg followed by center Mate Colina and forward Casdon Jardine at 12 ppg.
“Since our last game we definitely have been moving the ball a lot better,” Webster said. “With these last couple weeks of practices building into our first conference game, I definitely feel our chemistry has gotten better and we just need to put it on the court.”
UC Riverside hasn’t played since a 74-50 win on Dec. 10 at Northern Arizona. The Highlanders had won three straight, starting with a 57-42 win over Washington on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas, when the program hit pause on Dec. 14 due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The Highlanders’ first two Big West series were canceled due to Long Beach State’s shutdown and a county order precluding UC Davis from competition and are set to play their first home game today.
Before the break, senior forward Arinze Chidom led the Highlanders with 13.5 points per game on 53% shooting from the field. Overall, UCR is shooting nearly 47% as a team and 40% from 3-point range.
“Riverside has had a similar break to us, but they’ve had four Division I games under their belt. They’re one of the groups in our league that returned quite a bit and you can see that with the start they’re on,” Ganot said.
“They’re a team that’s one of the biggest teams in our league. They’ve been a team that was one of the elite rebounding teams in our league and in the country last year and they’re plus-nine already. So they’ve shot it really well, they have an inside-out attack and they have good experience.”
BIG WEST BASKETBALL
Hawaii (2-0) vs. UC Riverside (3-1)
At SRC Arena, Riverside, Calif.
>> When: Today and Saturday, 2 p.m.
>> TV: none
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Streaming video: BigWest.tv
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