Wahine road trip heads to UC Davis

After ending a run of opening-game futility in conference play on Thursday, the Rainbow Wahine basketball team takes a couple of streaks into Saturday’s Big West contest at UC Davis.

The Wahine started their conference schedule at 1-0 for the first time since 2006 with Thursday’s 67-55 win at Long Beach State. The victory was also their sixth straight on the road this season and 15th consecutive Big West regular-season win going back to last season.

Both streaks figure to be challenged on Saturday when the Wahine (8-6) face UC Davis (8-6) at The Pavillion in Davis, Calif.

“We’ve had some really good battles,” UH coach Laura Beeman said Thursday. “It’s always a close game, it always comes down to the wire.”

The Wahine were scheduled to fly to Northern California today, practice and get some rest before Saturday’s noon (Hawaii time) tip off.

UH swept the season series with UC Davis last year, rallying to a 58-53 road win and holding off the Aggies 62-60 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Aggies also opened conference play with a road win on Thursday, blowing past CSUN 75-52 behind sophomore forward Pele Gianotti’s 18 points.

The Aggies have the height to counter UH’s size in the post. Alyson Doherty, a 6-3 senior, and Morgan Bertsch, a 6-4 freshman, lead the Aggies with 13 points per game each, followed by the 5-11 Gianotti at 11.6.

Bertsch leads the conference in shooting percentage at 57.6, followed by UH senior Kalei Adolpho at 51.7. Doherty is fourth at 49.6 percent.

UH’s size advantage contributed to a 52-29 rebounding margin against Long Beach State. Adolpho had her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Destiny King added 11 points and eight boards.

Prior to Thursday’s win at LBSU, the Wahine had gone 0-3 in Big West openers, losing to Cal State Fullerton in 2013 and Cal Poly the last two years. UH dropped its Western Athletic Conference opener the six seasons since a 79-74 win at Nevada on Jan. 5, 2006. UH hasn’t gone 2-0 in conference play since beating UTEP and Boise State to open the 2002-03 WAC season.

The Wahine are also 15-3 on the mainland over the last two seasons, matching the program’s road-win total over the previous four seasons combined.