It has an iconic March moniker for a reason. If Hawaii catches LSU on a bad day, it will unleash madness.

“It’s March Madness, right,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “The odds are stacked against us with rankings, sold-out crowd, playing in Louisiana at LSU. But that’s why it’s March Madness.”

The No. 14 seed Rainbow Wahine will take on the No. 3 seed LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., today at 11:30 a.m.. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Beeman and her team are presented with their biggest challenge of the season today. They have momentum coming off a conference championship win. But will it be enough given the disadvantages they have in playing in a hostile environment against a dominant team with a coach who has been down this road many times?

LSU (28-2) is ranked ninth in the nation, with its only two losses coming to No. 1 South Carolina and No. 24 Tennessee in an upset defeat in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

LSU is coached by Louisiana-raised Kim Mulkey, who is the only person in college basketball history — men or women — to win national championships as a head coach (3 at Baylor), assistant coach (1 at Louisiana Tech) and a player (2 at LaTech).

The Rainbow Wahine are set to play in front of a sold-out crowd at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC). LSU’s women’s basketball team broke the all-time PMAC attendance record this season drawing more than 15,000 fans. The Tigers have been as entertaining as the program has seen in a long time.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” UH’s 6-foot-3 senior forward Kallin Spiller said. “Obviously the LSU fans are really passionate, and the program is one of the tops for a reason. So it’s going to be a challenge, and it’s going to take our best basketball. But we’ve been saying all season that we’ve wanted to play our best basketball in March, so now it’s time to prove it.”

The Wahine will face two all-SEC players in 6-3 sophomore forward Angel Reese and 5-6 Alexis Morris.

Reese has had a historically dominant season, allowing her to also be named to the AP All-America first team on Wednesday. She is averaging 23.4 points per game, which is the fifth most in the country, and 15.5 rebounds per game, which is the second most in the country. She’s recorded 27 double-doubles this season, setting a program record.

“Reese is one of the best players in the country,” Beeman said. “There’s a plan for her every single night with the best post players in the country, and she still gets her double-doubles. So we don’t really have an answer for her. It’s going to be great for my youngsters to play against someone like her for her speed, her ability to get off the ground quick, she’s so versatile, what she can do around the basket, she’s very, very physical. So that’s really good for my young post players.”

Morris leads the guard play with her experience. The fifth-year senior averages 15.1 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, and 3.0 rebounds per game.

“She’s something special,” Beeman said of Morris. “Her speed … (she) is very, very skilled with the ball, she can get to the basket, she’s kind of the head of the snake. But their transition offense and their offensive rebounding are two areas that I’m really concerned about. And then the third would be the amount of pressure and how they can speed us up. We’re going to have to be able to take really good shots in order to stop some of that transition.”

While the two present a challenge to Beeman and her team, the Tigers’ as a whole will throw Hawaii off by its style of play. LSU plays a faster, more aggressive game than the Rainbow Wahine, so they will have to take the best shots they can in order to control any momentum LSU will ride on.

“We can’t replicate their speed and their size,” Beeman said. “So that is something we’re going to have to really hone in on; taking care of the ball, taking good shots, and that will at least help slow down one of the areas they are so good at.”

But overall, the Rainbow Wahine want to go into Baton Rouge and give LSU a run for its money. They know they are the underdogs so why not prove everyone wrong?

“Obviously we understand what we’re up against,” Beeman said. “With that said, we can go in with a nothing-to-lose mentality; we’re only going to gain experience, gain stuff to help us for the future.”

Beeman contended just getting to the NCAA is a win for the Wahine and their program.

“Experience; the more times you get here, and you gain this valuable experience. It just helps you for future tournaments, helps you for conference play, helps you recruiting,” she said. “I am just looking forward to the experience this team is going to get playing in front of a sold-out crowd against one of the top teams in the country. Find out what we’re made of again, and go from there.”

“It’s really an honor to get to represent our state and our university for the second time in a row and go back-to-back,” Spiller said. “The experience of playing in March Madness on one of the biggest stages, in a great arena, against one of the top programs is really exciting. Really everything about it we’re all soaking in this experience and we’re really excited to play our best game Friday.”