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Tonight’s all-Oahu exhibition game holds the promise of new experiences for the University of Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University women’s basketball teams.
The host Rainbow Wahine enter their lone dress rehearsal before next week’s season opener eager for their first test under game conditions, while the Sharks will debut a nearly brand-new roster.
Both teams will also arrive at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center looking forward to the prospect of playing in front of a live crowd for the first time since March 2020.
“I know (the Rainbow Wahine players) are so excited they can’t stand it,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “They are tremendously excited.”
After her team played in front of cardboard cutouts in last season’s truncated schedule, Beeman noted those freshmen as well as this year’s newcomers have yet to take the court with fans in the seats and the return of spectators “is going to make all of us a little bit emotional,” she said.
“I think it’s that ‘Here we go, this I why we love being here, we love working here, we love living here,’” Beeman said. “And being able to experience that with our entire team, I think this is going to be an emotional night.”
The exhibition game will be the first UH event to be held this season without a cap on attendance. Last weekend’s UH women’s volleyball matches and Monday’s UH-Chaminade men’s basketball exhibition were held with a limit of 500 spectators. The restriction will be lifted effective today with the proof of vaccination still required.
Beeman likened the task of compartmentalizing the emotions to a senior night, as both teams focus on the task at hand once tip-off arrives.
Both teams enter tonight’s game led by Australian seniors in UH forward Amy Atwell and HPU guard Amy Baum.
Atwell led the Wahine with 12.6 points per game last season and hit a team-high 36 3-pointers on 32% shooting from long range. The UH graduate student was named to the preseason All-Big West team on Tuesday and leads a roster that spent the preseason practices working nine newcomers into the system after going 9-8 and advancing to the Big West tournament semifinals.
The Wahine also feature experience in the backcourt with the return of guard Nae Nae Calhoun, who missed most of last season with a knee injury. Kelsie Imai started 16 games at the point last season and the Wahine also welcome back guard Olivia Davies and Daejah Phillips, the reigning Big West sixth player of the year.
Baum is one of just two HPU players returning from a team that went 13-1, with the lone loss coming in the NCAA Division II tournament. The Sharks opened the season with an 82-74 win over UH in which they went 15-for-33 from 3-point range.
“We have a really brand new team,” HPU coach Reid Takatsuka said. “So we’re just trying to figure out what we have right now. We’re just very thankful that we have the game with UH where we can work out some of the kinks and see what we’ve got.”
Baum is a two-time Pacific West Conference Player of the Year and led Division II with 8.6 assists while averaging 14.5 points per game last season. The Sharks’ class of newcomers includes Kamehameha graduate Kalina Obrey, the 2019 All-State Player of the Year, as a transfer from San Jose State.
Despite HPU’s youth, Beeman expects a test from the Sharks leading into next week’s opening road trip to San Diego and Southern Cal.
“We all know HPU is very, very good, and they beat us last year and it was not by coincidence or chance — they earned that game,” Beeman said.
“(Takatsuka’s) just an outstanding coach. They’re going to run their offense with great pace and they’re going to be crisp, and even though they’re young they’re going to get up and down the floor very well. … We know they shoot the 3 incredibly well.”
Polls released
UH placed fifth in the Big West preseason coaches poll and fourth in the media poll released on Tuesday. UC Davis, the five-time defending regular-season champion and two-time tournament winner, topped both polls. UC Irvine was picked second in the coaches poll, followed by UC Santa Barbara. The media voted Long Beach State second, with UC Irvine third.
HPU came in at No. 25 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II poll, also released on Tuesday. The Sharks finished last season at No. 14.
EXHIBITION WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Hawaii Pacific vs. Hawaii
>> When: Today, 7 p.m.
>> TV/Radio: none
>> Tickets: available at HawaiiAthletics.com
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