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Seeing Hawaii on the top line of the Big West preseason women’s basketball poll brought back memories of last season’s championship runs for Rainbow Wahine coach Laura Beeman.
The time for reminiscing passed quickly, and about two hours after the poll’s release, the Rainbow Wahine continued their on-court preparations for the upcoming title defense.
“It took me back to cutting down nets, it took me back to the journey we had last year as a program,” Beeman said during the team’s media day session on Thursday. “(With) how hard this team has worked, to see yourself No. 1 preseason it’s fun. … But now you have to get to work, and we’ve been working.”
UH paired the Big West’s regular-season and tournament championships for the first time in program history last season and, as expected, will enter the new season as the conference favorite.
UH received nine of the 11 first-place votes from the league’s coaches and tallied a total of 99 points in the poll, 15 clear of second-place UC Santa Barbara, which received the remaining two first-place votes and had 84 points.
The Wahine topped the poll prior to the 2015-16 season and fulfilled the preseason expectations by winning the Big West tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think it’s a great position to be in,” UH guard Kelsie Imai said. “At the same time, our team does a good job of not thinking that we’re No. 1 and just knowing we have that target on our back. So we’re pushing as a team to be No. 1.”
UH returns four starters (guards Imai, Daejah Phillips and Olivia Davies and forward Kallin Spiller) among 11 letterwinners off of last season’s team, which went 20-10 overall and 13-3 in conference play. The Wahine, who entered last season fifth in the preseason poll. closed the season with a loss at Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wahine added Lily Wahinekapu, last season’s Big West Freshman of the Year, as a transfer from Cal State Fullerton. The ‘Iolani graduate represented UH on the six-player preseason coaches team.
The Wahine also return leadership, with graduate students in Spiller and guard McKenna Haire and Davies, a fourth-year junior, serving as captains along with a fourth member yet to be named.
“The experience always helps you twofold,” Beeman said. “The maturity of, ‘This is what it takes to get back to No. 1, (and) hopefully the maturity when we hit some of those blips. But right now this group is really focused on they want the No. 1 title, they’ve worked for the No. 1 title and they want to keep the No. 1 title.”
Long Beach State placed third in the voting, followed by UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly and CSU Bakersfield.
Wahinekapu, who averaged 14 points and three assists per game in her lone season at Cal State Fullerton, was joined on the preseason all-conference team by CSUN guard Tess Amundsen, UC San Diego guard Julia Macabuhay and guard/forward Sydney Brown, UCSB forward/center Ila Lane and UC Davis guard Evanne Turner.
The Wahine play an exhibition game against Hawaii Pacific University on Nov. 1 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. They open the regular season with a road trip to Oregon State (Nov. 7) and Portland (Nov. 9). They make their home debut on Nov. 18 against Florida Gulf Coast.
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Big West women’s basketball preseason coaches poll
1. Hawaii (9) 99
2. UC Santa Barbara (2) 84
3. Long Beach State 73
4. UC San Diego 72
5. UC Davis 71
6. UC Irvine 62
7. UC Riverside 40
8. CSU Northridge 36
9. CSU Fullerton 33
10. Cal Poly 18
11. CSU Bakersfield 17
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