Since the start of conference play, Hawaii’s offense has ranked among the most productive in Big West women’s basketball.
It’s the other end of the court that commands Rainbow Wahine coach Laura Beeman’s attention at the moment.
Throughout her weekly media session, Beeman expounded on the need for the Rainbow Wahine to turn up their intensity on defense heading into tonight’s Big West meeting with UC Davis and Saturday’s game against UC Riverside.
“Bottom line, we have to show up on the defensive side of the ball,” Beeman said.
“We’re not performing well on that side of the ball and it’s going to come to bite us if we don’t get it together.”
UH (8-8, 4-2 BWC) enters the homestand at SimpiFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center averaging 64.8 points per game, good for second in the Big West. The Wahine lead the conference in shooting from the field (42.6%) and has gone to the free-throw line with the highest frequency in the league at more than 23 attempts per game.
Defensively, the Wahine rank 10th out of 11 teams in surrendering 67.5 points per game on 42.1% shooting from the field and that’s the phase Beeman has focused on this week in practice.
“We have kids who can drive, we have kids who can be physical on the offensive end, we need to figure it out on the defensive end,” Beeman said.
“It’s getting stops, it’s 3-point field-goal percentage, it’s getting rebounds and finishing plays, that’s an area we just have to continue to improve on. We just have slippage at really bad times, we need to string together a few stops.”
In last Saturday’s 76-67 win at Cal State Northridge, the Wahine were able to set a season high with 15 steals among the Matadors’ 25 turnovers and UH converted 20 points off of takeaways.
“When our defense is on point I feel our offense just comes to us, it’s not forced,” said UH guard Daejah Phillips, who came up with a career-high five steals in the win.
Phillips is tied with senior Amy Atwell for the team lead in steals with 19 and has scored in double figures in each of the last five games. Her penchant for attacking the paint contributed to a 35-for-43 showing from the free-throw line in that span and she’s an emerging threat from 3-point range.
“As Daejah continues to improve her three-level scoring it really puts pressure on defenses on how to guard her,” Beeman said. “Daejah’s got the green light to drive.”
Every team in the conference has at least two losses with Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC San Diego (which is not yet eligible for the Big West title) leading the pack at 6-2 followed by UH.
UC Davis won the last five Big West regular-season titles and the last two conference tournaments. The Aggies (9-8, 3-4) appeared on an upward trend with three wins in four games before a 61-59 loss at home to UC Riverside (6-8, 3-4) on Tuesday.
UC Davis senior forward Cierra Hall, the 2021 Big West Player of the Year and tournament MVP, leads the Aggies with 14.1 points per game, placing her fifth in the conference. Guard Evanne Turner complements Hall from the perimeter with a league-high 43 made 3-pointers on 41% shooting. Beeman has also made UH’s post players aware of center Sage Stobbart’s ability to run the floor.
“(Hall) is very driven, she’s incredibly intelligent, high motor, can score at a variety of levels,” Beeman said. “We have to have a game plan for her, and we do, but we can’t forget about the other players on that floor.”
Atwell is among the midseason favorites for the conference’s top honor as the league’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game. She enters the week with 34 3-pointers this season and is four away from tying the UH career record of 167.
UH was scheduled to open the Big West season with a road trip to UC Riverside and UC Davis before both games were canceled due to COVID-19 issues.
Big West women’s basketball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
UC Davis (9-8, 3-4 BWC) vs. Hawaii (8-8, 4-2)
>>When: Today, 7 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1500-AM
>> Tickets: etickethawaii.com
