Rare feat

Thanks to a little research, what was suspected since Saturday was confirmed: Hawaii did something that is pretty rare.

The Rainbow Warriors, in beating and losing to every other team in the same conference season, became the first team in program history to do that (WAC or Big West), as well as the only team in NCAA Division I to go 1-1 against its entire league in 2017-18.

(Note that not every conference plays a true double round-robin schedule like the Big West. Some teams, particularly the larger power conferences, can’t have everyone play each other twice. In those, select teams go home-and-home and the rest play once.)

Still, it speaks to both the parity in the conference, and especially UH’s inconsistent nature this season, that the Rainbows were able to complete the feat by winning at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.

Long Beach State sealed UH’s 6-seed fate anyway by topping UC Riverside on the 49ers’ senior night. That in itself might not have been a bad thing, but as (poor) luck would have it, UC Irvine lost at home to UC Davis in double overtime for the de facto Big West regular-season championship. Because of a tiebreaker, UCI slipped below UC Santa Barbara and into the 3-hole.

Irvine, the best defensive team in the conference, is probably not the team you want to see this time of year.

But, as we know, anything can happen come conference tournament time. UH practiced at Fullerton College, nearby their hotel at Cal State Fullerton, for the second straight day Wednesday. This is where the Rainbows prepared for their successful Big West tournament run two years ago, so they’ve got that mojo going for them.

Here’s a free link to today’s feature story on Mike Thomas.

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The Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s season came to an end with a 62-57 loss to Cal State Northridge in the Big West first round on Tuesday night. It marked the first time in their current Big West tenure (from 2012-13) they were bounced in the opening round, although they went one-and-done in 2013, being upset by Cal State Fullerton when the Wahine had the benefit of a bye.

It’s also the second straight losing season for the Wahine (12-18), who had four straight winning campaigns and postseason appearances to open Laura Beeman’s UH career. Some season-long adversity caught up with this year’s group and turned back their comeback effort.

CSUN’s Channon Fluker was too much to handle again, combined with a strong game from forward Tessa Boagni.

Sarah Toeaina exits as the ninth-leading scorer in program history (1,204 points), as she passed Janevia Taylor (1,194) and Keisha Kanekoa (1,200) in her final game. Point guard Tia Kanoa tied the single-game assist record with 12, set by Tricia Stringam in 1992.

Here’s a free link to the full story on the Rainbow Wahine loss.