Since signing Marissa Wimbley to her first recruiting class at Hawaii, Rainbow Wahine basketball coach Laura Beeman never worried about the guard wandering astray.

On the court, Beeman encouraged Wimbley to pay a little less heed to her conscience.

Given a clean look at the basket, Beeman gave Wimbley a “green light” to shoot from 3-point range when she enters the game off the bench. A role many would relish “but you have to have the right mentality,” Beeman said.

“And you have to have the right confidence to do that and it’s just probably been the last about month a and half that she’s really embraced that.”

The 5-foot-5 Wimbley has seen an uptick in playing time as a 3-point threat off the bench for the Wahine (10-9, 3-3 Big West), who open a homestand today against Cal State Fullerton (2-17, 0-5) at the the Stan Sheriff Center.

Wimbley is averaging 13.6 minutes and 11 of her 16 field goals this season have come from 3-point range. She knocked down three a week ago in a season-high 11-point performance in UH’s 83-65 win at UC Irvine and is 7-for-14 from behind the arc over her last four games.

“I’ve never really had that saying from a coach, green light,” said Wimbley, who posted her career best 13 points at UCI last year. “Now I just have to get that confidence for myself and I think every game my confidence has gotten higher and higher.”

Wimbley was a relatively late addition to Beeman’s first recruiting class after UH’s coaching change in 2012. She had been in contact with then-UH assistant Gavin Petersen while at Pleasant Grove High School in Northern California, but her college options were thrown into flux during the transition in Manoa. Petersen was retained on Beeman’s inaugural staff and when the coaches were looking for guard depth late that summer, Wimbley’s name came up again and she signed on with the Wahine.

She roomed with fellow recruit Destiny King upon arriving on campus and the duo bonded in making the adjustment from California to Hawaii.

“That’s one relationship I’m going to take with me forever,” Wimbley said.

“We’ve grown over the years. She’s helped me through basketball, through life, everything. It really helps when you have teammates who go through the same things and can relate with you and just make it fun for you.”

Wimbley started one game as a freshman, saw limited playing time her sophomore year and started five of UH’s last seven games last season while appearing in 30 games.

Beeman said Wimbley has “embraced her role from sitting on the bench for a long time and never being a bad voice in the locker room to now a young lady who gets significant minutes and shoots the ball a lot.”

Beeman noted her growth in confidence over the years, and allowed Wimbley the latitude to let it fly if she has an open look this season.

“Then it was working through, ‘Well I’ve got the green light, but I’ve missed my first three shots, oh it’s a horrible night,’ ” Beeman said. “Shooters don’t have a conscience, shoot the ball.”

Off the court, Wimbley hasn’t given Beeman reason to question her decision making during her stay at UH.

“She’s always been a young lady who has had her stuff together,” Beeman said. “Very good student, great teammate, loves doing community service. Just a good kid from a good family.”

Wimbley is on track to graduate this May with a degree in family resources. She plans to apply to nursing schools on the west coast, following the path of her grandmother, and has an interest in pediatrics.

While senior night in March is quickly approaching and graduation two months after, Wimbley is savoring the opportunities remaining on the schedule.

“Every week goes by so fast, every day goes by so fast, but we’re still early in the season,” she said. “I take every day like it’s my last day because I know I’m going to miss it afterward.”