HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine basketball team will enter the January 18 matchup against Long Beach State in a position that has become familiar over the past three seasons – near the very top of the Big West conference standings. 

In fact, success is something that ‘Bows fans have been accustomed to in head coach Laura Beeman’s tenure. The Rainbow Wahine snapped a 20-year absence from the NCAA Tournament in 2016, just four years after Beeman’s arrival. The year prior saw Beeman pilot the Rainbow Wahine to a 15-game win streak, the program’s longest string of wins since 1997-98, en route to a third consecutive appearance in the women’s National Invitational Tournament for UH. The CSU-San Bernardino alum would do it again in 2018, marking the fourth NIT invite for her program in six seasons. 

Close by, a local Kalani product watched intently as her state’s home school saw a revival of the women’s basketball program ahead of her high school career. For Hallie Birdsong, the University of Hawai’i was always her collegiate destination. Like basketball, UH was a shared passion amongst her family. 

Her dad is UH football great Norris Birdsong, who scored the first of many touchdowns by UH running backs inside the old Aloha Stadium. He and Birdsong’s uncle were also avid basketball players and fans, the UH junior said.  

Her dad took on duties of coaching the youthful hooper and “still coaches me now to this day,” she said cheerfully, joking that the old football player cannot help but continue to give instructions even now that she is a collegiate basketball player. 

Her dad’s coaching, coupled with a competitive nature of her own, led to a love of basketball for Birdsong. When younger brother, Norris Shaun Birdsong Jr., was introduced to her life, she saw a chance to improve her game while experiencing the thrill of being an older sister. 

“Now that he’s older and a lot bigger than me, I’d say our games of one-on-one are a lot more competitive,” UH’s junior guard laughed in a phone interview. “I’m just that big sister that’s always trying to push him and encourage him to be the best he can be.” 

Birdsong’s positivity manifests itself in many ways. In one, it makes her a great family member and friend to the inner circle that she credits for helping keep her so upbeat – serving as a constant bright light to those around her. After Hawai’i’s blowout win over CSUN on January 6 that saw Birdsong score her first collegiate bucket, Laura Beeman was sure to share how important the reserve guard has been to the team. 

“Seeing Hallie hit that pull-up jumper was very, very fun. Many games, she’s our “why” and she’s very humble about what she means to this program, but I think the reaction from the bench and the crowd kind of sums it up,” the veteran UH head coach said to the media about Birdsong after the Rainbow Wahine’s 67-38 win. 

That positivity is also what led to the Rainbow Wahine’s “Why” making the team in the first place. 

After four years of balling out in the OIA for Kalani, Birdsong looked to the next step with eyes on the biggest college in the state. As an underrecruited player with eyes on a spot within the Rainbow Wahine program, the 5-foot-7 guard knew that it would be a steep climb to reach her goals. 

“The program has a lot of history, has a deep legacy especially playing under Coach Laura Beeman and all she’s done,” Birdsong said. 

It had to start with a phone call to Beeman’s staff and a plea for a chance to try-out as a walk-on for Hawai’i, betting on herself, her work ethic and faith. Taking a “leap of faith” after being a self-admitted “late bloomer” growing up, it was a call that Birdsong is thankful for to this day. 

“I’m so blessed and thankful to have the opportunity [to play for UH],” the junior expressed. “I don’t regret [walking on] one bit.” 

While she may have been able to see more playing time at a lower division level (6 games played in 2.5 seasons at UH), the journey was about far more than what happened on the hardwood for her.  

Coming to the University of Hawai’i as a Biology major, Birdsong was interested in health from the start. After taking a couple of public health courses early in her stay at UH, she knew that a change in major was in the cards and promptly switched over to Public Health to pursue a long-term goal here at home. 

Birdsong’s switch to Public Health came with an interest in specifically helping and working with disadvantaged communities on O’ahu with a focus on maternal and children’s health. Those two courses she took opened her eyes to the different paths she could take to help others on her home island. She’s always wanted to do just that – help those around her. 

That is where it comes back to the court. With a team looking for a three-peat in the Big West tournament, Hawai’i has had a target on their back from the moment the season began. The Rainbow Wahine were selected first in the conference’s preseason poll after returning all but two players from last season’s NCAA tournament squad.  

Despite the accolades from the outside, Birdsong reminds that it is about focusing on the people within the locker room and none of the outside noise. That is how the ‘Bows have taken care of business the previous two seasons – not coincidentally the first two years that Birdsong has been a part of the program. 

Her playing time was not much but her impact on the team’s “amazing” culture helped continue cultivating an environment for players to feel comfortable with each other and root for another teammate’s success more than their own. In turn, a family feel remains within a program that has been built upon the foundation of selflessness. 

Birdsong’s bucket perhaps is the best example of this. As Hawai’i had a hearty lead late in the contest against CSU Northridge, well on their way to the program’s best start to conference play in Beeman’s tenure, every fan and player inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center remained locked into the action on the court as the junior walk-on entered play with 2:22 remaining. 

As teammates worked to get her a shot, Birdsong stayed ready. When her moment came, she let go of a pair of misses from her last outing and drilled a beautiful pull-up jumper to send the crowd (and her teammates) into a celebratory frenzy. 

It was a moment of exuberance for everyone within SSC but even more for Birdsong. 

A walk-on from the public schools on O’ahu, she made the OIA proud. Continuing to work despite knowing playing time would be scarce, Birdsong reminded herself that “just because something doesn’t go your way doesn’t mean it will always be like that.” 

It was finally time for things to go the junior’s way on the public stage. 

In the end, it also served as proof of concept to Birdsong: “Walk by faith, not by sight.” 

It is the quote she lives by every day of her life, allowing her to “keep [my] head high, eyes straight ahead and keep on walking” towards another storybook season with her Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine teammates.