Hawai’i overwhelms Cal State Bakersfield, secures share of Big West crown

HONOLULU – Top of the pack. 

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team clinched the top overall seed in next week’s Big West Conference Tournament with a convincing 66-51 win over Cal State Bakersfield (2-28, 2-18 Big West) on Thursday evening. Kelsie Imai paced the Rainbow Wahine with 12 points and three rebounds as nine different players scored for UH in the victory. 

With the head-to-head tiebreaker over UC Irvine, Hawai’i (21-8, 15-4 Big West) entered the week needing only one win in two chances to lock up the conference’s top spot and wasted no time in securing the position before Senior Night. The victory on Thursday night kicked off the celebration and marked the 11th straight time that Hawai’i has beaten CSUB, last falling to the Roadrunners in January of 2021. 

“What this group has done thus far is super special,” Hawai’i head coach Laura Beeman said after the game. “We’re not done, but for tonight, we’re going to enjoy what they did.” 

It marked the third time in the last four years that Hawai’i snagged at least part of the conference’s regular season title, finishing below the top place on the pedestal only in 2023 after multiple players suffered season-ending injuries over the first half of the season. (Hawai’i went on to win the Big West Tournament that year for the second straight time.) 

The Rainbow Wahine got out of the gates quickly, scoring 8 of the first 10 points of the night to snag an early 6-point advantage before the Roadrunners responded with an 11-2 run over the final five minutes of the opening period. Melissa Secchiaroli drilled her lone 3-pointer of the game to close the quarter, giving CSUB a three-point advantage after one frame. 

Ary Dizon started the second quarter with the Roadrunners’ third 3-pointer of the opening half, giving the visitors a six-point advantage just 17 seconds into the frame. The Hawai’i defense clicked into gear again from there, allowing two points over the final 9:43 of the half while ripping off 19 points of their own to take a double-digit lead at the break, 29-18.

Hawai’i continued its dominance through halftime and into the third quarter, scoring 12 of the first 14 points out of the locker rooms to complete a 31-4 run in total that stretched back into the opening seconds of the second quarter and take a commanding 41-20 lead over Cal State Bakersfield. 

The Roadrunners put together a couple scoring stretches to pull as close as 12 with 2:31 left in the fourth quarter, but an and-one followed by a 3-pointer by Kelsie Imai pushed the Rainbow Wahine lead back out to 18 points and helped the hosts cruise to the calm 66-51 victory to start the cutting of the nets. 

Melissa Secchiaroli led the Roadrunners with 11 points off the bench, going 5-of-11 from the field and knocking down one of CSUB’s five 3-pointers. Cheyenne Forney added 10 points and five rebounds, scoring the final basket of the night (and season) for the visitors. 

Lily Wahinekapu pitched in 11 points in 19 minutes of work for the Rainbow Wahine, knocking down both of her 3-point attempts as she moved into the top 20 for career points with UH (1,066 points, 19th). Imani Perez was the only other scorer in the game to reach double figures, tallying 10 points and five boards to go with a pair of steals. 

Hawai’i still needs a win on Senior Night OR a loss by UC Irvine on Saturday to secure an outright claim to the regular season Big West title. A loss by UH to CSUN on Saturday would need to be coupled with a victory by UCI over UC Santa Barbara for the Anteaters to grab a share of the crown, but the Rainbow Wahine cannot fall out of the top spot in the conference regardless of the results. 

“I don’t like sharing,” Beeman said while holding the Big West trophy after the game. 

With the top seed in the Big West Tournament, Hawai’i gets a double-bye and guaranteed spot in the semifinals on Friday, March 14. The Rainbow Wahine will face off against the winner of the 4-5 matchup at 9 a.m. HT, looking to return to the conference championship game with a win after getting knocked out in the semifinals in 2024. 

The Rainbow Wahine will celebrate six seniors on Saturday, taking on Cal State Northridge (4-24, 2-17 Big West) at 7 p.m. HT for “Show’UHM Your Aloha Senior Night” to close out the regular season. The Matadors’ roster features former UH forward Nnenna Orji, who turned in a career-high 22 points in CSUN’s overtime loss on Thursday against UC Riverside.