Facing Cal State Bakersfield under late-season pressure is a familiar scenario for Hawaii forward Kallin Spiller.
Now part of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s post rotation, Spiller was a freshman at Seattle University in 2018 when she helped the Redhawks capture the Western Athletic Conference tournament title with a win over the Roadrunners.
Spiller then transferred to Columbia where she earned an Ivy League degree before heading to Hawaii as a graduate transfer for this season. CSU Bakersfield was also on the move in the meantime, switching membership from the WAC to the Big West in 2020.
So when the Rainbow Wahine faced the Roadrunners last month in a two-game series in Manoa, it made for a reunion of sorts for Spiller.
“It’s kind of funny to have that full-circle moment and have them be in the Big West Conference,” Spiller said. “Definitely a jersey I’m familiar with and cool to see on the other side of the floor. Definitely history there.”
Spiller helped Seattle go 2-1 against CSUB in 2018 and contributed to a Wahine sweep of the Roadrunners on Jan. 20 and 22 in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
Although recent history favors UH, the Big West-leading Rainbow Wahine (13-9, 9-3 Big West) enter today’s rematch at the Icardo Center in chilly Bakersfield, Calif., wary of the challenges the Roadrunners (4-16, 3-8) present.
“We’re familiar with some of the weapons they have, they’re a really talented team, so we can’t take them or anyone in the conference lightly,” Spiller said. “We’re going into this as the most important game of the season because it’s our next game.”
UH added a non-conference game with CSU Bakersfield in January after Cal Poly canceled its trip due to COVID-19 protocols. The shuffle puts the Wahine in the unusual position of playing CSUB for a third time and facing Cal Poly (3-18, 2-10) for the first time on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif., to cap their final road trip of the regular season.
When UH and CSUB met last month, the Roadrunners were coming out of an extended pause after having five Big West games cancelled. The Wahine rolled to a 69-52 win in the non-conference opener then hung on for a 73-66 win in the Big West matchup led by forward Amy Atwell’s 33-point performance.
While CSUB enters the game 10th in the conference standings, the Roadrunners knocked off defending Big West champion UC Davis 84-75 last Saturday and defeated Cal Poly 85-71 on Tuesday.
“Our group is not overlooking them at all,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “They understand the challenge of this trip and the importance of this trip and they understand how good Bakersfield is.
“I think things are starting to come together for (the Roadrunners). I don’t care where they are in the conference, I don’t think that’s indicative of the level of talent. … I think we’ve got more than a dogfight on our hands, that’s for sure.”
Jayden Eggleston leads CSUB with 16.2 points per game in Big West play and guard Andie Easley averages 2.2 3-pointers per game. Beeman also noted the physical play of Vanessa Austin (13.2 ppg, 5.5 rebound per game) in the post.
“We’re emphasizing defense all the way around right now,” Beeman said. “Defense is what’s going (to) pull us through in a lot of situations.
“Defense has to be consistent, whether it’s in the post, or containment or boards.”
UH is coming off a split of last week’s homestand which began with a two-point loss to UC San Diego after the Wahine erased a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. They rebounded with a 67-57 win over UC Irvine that pushed them back into first place with Atwell scoring 25 points and Spiller going 6-for-7 from the field in a 15-point night.
“I would rather have us weather those storms now than in March,” said Spiller, who called the UCSD loss a “wake-up call.”
“Being able to identify some of those issues we faced on the court, being able to come back and get to work on fixing those and play a pretty compete game on Saturday, it was definitely exciting.”
BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
At Icardo Center; Bakersfield, Calif.
Hawaii (13-9, 9-3 BWC) vs. CSU Bakersfield (4-16, 3-8)
>> When: Today, 5 p.m.
>> TV/Radio: None
>> Online: ESPN+
