The surroundings and scenario figure to have a familiar feel for Kallin Spiller.
Despite a day-long journey from Honolulu to Waco, Texas, playing in Baylor’s arena could feel a bit like home for the University of Hawaii forward and her Rainbow Wahine teammates.
The design of the Stan Sheriff Center on the Manoa campus was based on the Ferrell Center, site of this week’s NCAA Tournament sub-regional.
While most of the Rainbow Wahine are reveling in their first NCAA Tournament trip, Spiller and guard McKenna Haire can draw upon previous experience in preparing for Friday’s first-round matchup with the host and second-seeded Bears.
Spiller started in Seattle University’s frontcourt as a freshman in the Redhawks’ run to the 2018 Western Athletic Conference tournament title and accompanying NCAA Tournament appearance. Haire, who has been sidelined for the last month due to injury, was a part of Princeton’s Ivy League championship teams in 2018 and ’19 that faced Maryland and Kentucky in the tournament’s opening round.
“I think it makes it even more special that I get to experience (the NCAA Tournament) again with a new program,” Spiller said prior to the team’s departure for Texas.
Back in 2018, Seattle was the 15th seed in its region — just as Hawaii is this week — and was assigned to face second-seeded Oregon in a first-round game in Eugene, Ore. Spiller went 5-for-9 from the field to finish with 10 points in an 88-45 loss to the Ducks, who were led by two eventual WNBA players.
“My freshman year we were also up against a really powerful team in Oregon with Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard and having that experience going into the opponent’s arena knowing you’re going into battle is something that I’ve taken with me into every game since that game,” Spiller said.
“Returning to that big stage really makes me realize how much of an honor it is and how lucky I feel to have a chance to return to a second March Madness.”
After making her NCAA Tournament debut with Seattle, Spiller transferred to Columbia, where she sat out the 2018-19 season and appeared in 11 games before the 2020 season was cut short. While the Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season, Spiller graduated with degrees in psychology and business management.
She had been offered a full-time position with Goldman Sachs in New York when she instead decided to enroll in UH’s Shidler College of Business and join the Rainbow Wahine as a graduate transfer.
Spiller’s journey since the trip to Oregon deepens her appreciation for this week’s opportunity in Texas.
“Especially after COVID, and for me personally not knowing whether I’d get to return to college basketball in any capacity, it’s definitely rewarding to see all of the work I’ve put in with my teammates and all the work the coaches have put in to get our program back to this level,” Spiller said.
“It definitely is not lost on me how special this moment is. … That was something I really wanted (her UH teammates) to experience going into this season. So it’s amazing we were able to make the dream a reality.”
Spiller enters the tournament averaging 7.2 points and five rebounds per game and contributed eight points and five boards in last Saturday’s win over UC Irvine in the Big West tournament final in Henderson, Nev.
Now that the Wahine are part of the 68-team NCAA bracket, Spiller can offer the perspective of having been there before.
“I think it’s all about experiencing the moment, but knowing that we have a job to do and a lot of work to do,” she said. “It’s going to be a battle against the Bears and I think taking everything we’ve learned over this past season, applying it, staying together as a team even though we’re under some of he brightest lights of the season is what I’ll be telling them in terms of enjoying the moment and celebrating each other as we go.”
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
At Ferrell Center; Waco, Texas
Hawaii (20-9) vs. Baylor (26-7)
>> When: Friday, 10 a.m.
>> TV: ESPN2
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
