Wahine Imai brings energy, tenacity to the court

Injuries will force changes to Hawaii’s rotation entering the second half of the Big West women’s basketball schedule.

Kelsie Imai’s pace and tenacity figure to remain constants in the Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s backcourt.

With two fellow guards now out for the season, the sophomore could see a heavier workload as one of UH’s primary ball-handlers. But longer minutes won’t alter an approach that led UH coach Laura Beeman to characterize Imai as “a pitbull” on the court.

“I go out there with the same attitude no matter what,” Imai said. “I trust my conditioning and … I work hard in practice for moments like this, to be prepared.”

Imai, who earned All-State honors at Waiakea, has been a mainstay in the lineup since joining the Rainbow Wahine for the 2020-21 season.

But UH’s backcourt depth thinned significantly in January with sophomore Olivia Davies undergoing season-ending surgery and Jovi Lefotu suffering an injury a week ago that will force her to miss the remainder of her freshman year.

UH’s post rotation also suffered a loss when forward Jacque David, a starter for 12 games, also sustained a season-ending injury early this week.

As the Wahine (8-11, 6-4 Big West) processed the sudden losses, they also moved forward with the task of preparing for today’s conference matchup with UC Davis (9-11, 5-5) and Saturday’s meeting with Cal Poly (5-13, 2-8) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

“We definitely have to come together and play for the people that can’t be on the court,” Imai said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Imai has played in 65 of UH’s 66 games over her three seasons in the program and started in 51, including 14 this season. Primarily a facilitator at the point, she consistently injects on-court energy when she checks in while averaging 22.1 minutes per game entering the week.

“Kelsie Imai always shows up,” Beeman said. “She’s a pitbull. That kid runs through walls, even when she’s hurt.

“So it takes that grittiness and it takes that courage, and it really is to say, ‘I’m going to go and play a lot of minutes and maybe I’m not 100% but I’m going to do this for the right reasons.’ ”

While the Wahine will play with a shorter bench for the remainder of the season, “We will continuously have kids that will step up, I promise you,” Beeman said.

Beeman classified guard Daejah Phillips’ availability for tonight’s rematch with UC Davis as a “game-time decision.” She missed both ends of last week’s road trip that began with a loss at UC Santa Barbara followed by a comeback win at CSU Bakersfield.

Guard Lily Wahinekapu has scored in double-figures in each of the last five games to raise her average to a team-high 10.9 points per game.

Guard Meilani McBee’s 3-point shooting at CSUB helped the Wahine cut into a 13-point deficit and freshman center Imani Perez’ grabbed 10 rebounds and hit two late free throws to seal the win.

“We’ve got a lot of talent on this floor, still,” Beeman said. “Depth is definitely going to become an issue and we have to be smart. But we’re going to buy into our process, like these kids have, and see what happens.”

The Rainbow Wahine will face a UC Davis lineup headlined by guard Evanne Turner, who enters the week as the Big West’s leading scorer with 15.6 points per game overall. She also leads the conference with 58 3-pointers made.

Turner, a 5-foot-9 junior, accounted for nine points on 3-for-13 shooting in UH’s 70-62 win at UC Davis in the conference opener on Dec. 29. Guard Victoria Baker led the Aggies with a season-high 16 points in a 7-for-11 shooting performance and guard Tova Sabel, a Penn State transfer, added 15 points with three 3-pointers.

Big West women’s basketball

At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center

UC Davis (9-11, 5-5) vs. Hawaii (8-11, 6-4)

>> When: 7 tonight

>> TV: Spectrum Sports

>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM