After enduring the tension of a one-point victory, Hawaii coach Laura Beeman wanted the Rainbow Wahine basketball team to focus on staying loose ahead of today’s Big West Tournament semifinal game.
Top-seeded UH nearly saw it’s hopes of adding the tournament title to its Big West regular-season crown crumble before the Rainbow Wahine held off CSU Bakersfield in a 48-47 win on Wednesday at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev.
The break in the women’s tournament schedule on Thursday gave the Wahine a chance to go over the scouting report for today’s matchup with UC Riverside and for Beeman to offer a simple reminder.
“Our focus today is let’s get back to our execution and doing what you’re built to do,” Beeman said. “It’s talking about lighten up a little bit, enjoy this moment. You’re built for this moment.”
The Wahine (18-9) delivered just enough pivotal moments in Wednesday’s quarterfinal to take a six-game winning streak into today’s 10 a.m. game against fourth-seeded UC Riverside (14-10), which has won eight straight.
The winner earns a shot at the tournament title and accompanying NCAA Tournament berth in Saturday’s 3 p.m. championship game against the winner of today’s second semifinal game between second-seeded UC Irvine and sixth seed UC Davis.
A meeting between UH and UCR scheduled for Dec. 30 in Riverside, Calif., was canceled and the Wahine cruised to a 76-57 win over the Highlanders on Feb. 5 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. UH forward Amy Atwell went 8-for-9 from the field that night and hit three 3-pointers to break the program’s career record.
UC Riverside dropped its next game to UC Irvine 60-44 on Feb. 10 (when they were outscored 23-3 in the fourth quarter) to fall to 6-10 overall and 3-6 in Big West play. The Highlanders haven’t lost since while holding opponents to 52.5 points per game on 36.5% shooting from the field, including 19.8% (24-for-121) from 3-point range.
“They have some really good athletes who can put on some pressure,” Beeman said. “They’re holding teams to minimal second chances. They can turn you over a little bit, which makes them very dangerous in full-court because they transition well.
“We’re going to have to take care of the ball, we have to run our stuff cleanly, we’re going to have to wait for our screens, and we have to be shot ready.”
UC Riverside advanced with a 46-42 win over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday and, like UH, survived despite a rough shooting performance from an all-conference first-team selection.
Atwell entered the tournament averaging 17.9 points per game but went 1-for-7 from the field and finished with four points against CSUB. UCR guard Keilanei Cooper (13.1 ppg) went 2-for-8 against UC Santa Barbara and was also held to four points.
Beeman said she saw a focused Atwell in practice on Thursday.
“Amy needs to recognize she doesn’t need to prove anything,” Beeman said of the Big West Player of the Year. “She just has to stop pressing and let the game come to her and she’ll be fine.”
Although Atwell had a quiet day offensively, she had a hand in the game’s decisive play on Wednesday. After CSUB’s Vanessa Austin’s hook shot came up short, Atwell was able to wrestle the rebound away from Jayden Eggleston and stay inbounds to allow time to run out.
“I thought that was a really headsy play,” Beeman said.
UH freshman Jacque David also impacted the play by holding her ground against Austin to force her away from the basket. David had earlier knocked down a baseline jumper after CSUB had taken a five-point lead and hit two free throws to give UH a 46-45 lead.
“That’s why we recruited Jacque — she’s a big-time player,” Beeman said. “I’m not surprised by (her performance on Wednesday), but it’s tremendous.
“Her composure has been nice to see. The turnaround jumper (she hit with 3:25 left), we work on that all the time and she had the confidence to take it.”
Big West women’s basketball tournament
At Dollar Loan Center; Henderson, Nev.
UC Riverside (14-10) vs Hawaii (18-9)
>> When: Today, 10 a.m.
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Live stream: ESPN+
