Wahine Gameday: UC Riverside

The Rainbow Wahine basketball team faces UC Riverside tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center in a rematch of the Highlanders’ 63-45 win last Thursday in Riverside, Calif.

So what areas does UH (8-13, 4-5 Big West) need to address to reverse the outcome the second time around?

Just about all of them.

“The Riverside game, we didn’t show up in any way, shape or form,” UH coach Laura Beeman said this week. “So it’s really difficult to really measure what we can or cannot do against that team because we didn’t play basketball.”

UH shot 24 percent from the field overall, went 1-for-13 form 3-point range and was outrebounded 53-39 in the loss at UCR (21-10, 6-3). The rebounding disparity widened in a 67-56 loss at Cal State Northridge last Saturday and Beeman put the team through drills in practice that would “affect your orthodontic work if you don’t have a mouthpiece in.”

Briana Harris led UH with 17 points and Sarah Toeaina added 15 in the first meeting with UCR. The rest of the roster combined for 13 points. Toeaina continues to lead the Wahine at 13.7 points per game overall and 17.1 in Big West play.

UCR forward Rejane Verin remains the Big West’s leading scorer at 16.6 points per game and is second in rebounding with 8.1 boards per game. Freshman Skyler Lewis turned in a breakout performance last week with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Tonight’s Play4Kay game opens a four-game homestand for UH with the Wahine looking to extend a nine-game winning streak at the Sheriff Center in Big West games dating back to last season’s loss to UCR. The Wahine face UC Santa Barbara at 5 pm. on Saturday in the first game of a UH basketball doubleheader.

Update: Beeman shuffled the lineup with Keleah-Aiko Koloi getting the start in place of Makenna Woodfolk, who had started 19 games in the post. The rest of the lineup remains the same with Toeaina, Olivia Crawford, Julissa Tago and Lahni Salanoa.