Hawaii Warrior World

Formerly about Rainbow Warriors basketball, but now covering all University of Hawaii sports.

About the blog host

Brian McInnis has covered sports on Oahu full time since 2007, when he joined the Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff as a general reporter. He was the UH basketball beat writer from the 2008-09 season through 2017-18. Follow him on twitter @Brian_McInnis

Latest news

Pivotal 2-week stretch on tap for Wahine

By Brian McInnis on January 24, 2019

UPDATE III: UH had a chance to build some serious momentum coming off its road sweep but instead came out flat against UC Riverside on Wednesday. The Highlanders built a 20-point lead behind Jannon Otto’s 22 points, but then the Rainbow Wahine rallied furiously to within three in the final seconds. Tia Kanoa’s long 3 to tie was just long and UCR pulled out the 60-55 win. UPDATE II: UH swept its two-game road trip with a 47-35 win at […]

Irvine pulls out another stunner

By Brian McInnis on January 23, 2019

The best thing about Wednesday night for Hawaii? The season goes on. Unlike UH’s bitter encounter with UC Irvine in the first round of the Big West tournament last March, the Rainbow Warriors will live to fight another day after a disheartening 75-74 overtime loss to the Anteaters at the Stan Sheriff Center. Here’s the final sequence of this tight @BigWestMBB battle — Max Hazzard with the go-ahead jumper for UC Irvine and the response that wouldn’t drop for #HawaiiMBB. […]

Purchase moves up 3s chart

By Brian McInnis on January 20, 2019

It was a disappointing flight home today for Hawaii, which came ever-so-close to sweeping its first road trip of the Big West season. However, senior guard Jack Purchase submitted one of his finer offensive games, scoring a season-high 24 (one off his career high) on 10-for-15 shooting in the 75-71 loss to UC Riverside at SRC Arena. The Aussie scored 18 of his points in the second half in keeping the Rainbow Warriors within striking distance. He hadn’t had a […]

Water polo opens with a splash

By Brian McInnis on January 19, 2019

That’s how you start as the No. 6 team in the country. The Hawaii water polo team opened the 2019 season in fine fashion by dispatching No. 22 Marist 17-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. UH did that despite working in several freshmen and playing without its No. 2 player, Elyse Lemay-Lavoie, who just left for Brazil for competition with the Canadian national team. Senior Irene Gonzalez of Spain picked up where she left off from […]

Wahine put up 29 in loss to CSUN

By Brian McInnis on January 18, 2019

Right around halftime, when the score read 27-12, the media guides were opened and the records searched. The lowest-scoring half of women’s basketball in the history of the Stan Sheriff Center? Eleven points, by Denver against UConn in 2002. The lowest-scoring game in the history of the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine? Twenty-five, against California in January of 1977. UH succeeded in avoiding setting a standard in those categories on Thursday night, but that’s about all that went right for the hosts […]

Water polo loads up

By Brian McInnis on January 16, 2019

Hawaii has been ranked in the CWPA national preseason poll every year since 2009 — and 2019 was no different. Maureen Cole’s Rainbow Wahine, who checked in in a tie for sixth in the poll announced Wednesday, will have no shortage of opportunities to maintain or better their position through their 21-game schedule. UH opens against No. 22 Marist at noon on Saturday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex, then Sonoma State at 6 p.m. that night. It’s the second straight […]

Kanoa ‘honored’ by player of the week award

By Brian McInnis on January 14, 2019

Point guard Tia Kanoa graciously accepted the first Big West weekly award given to the Hawaii women’s basketball team in the 2018-19 season. The Monday honor went to Kanoa after she played huge all over the floor in the Rainbow Wahine’s 65-60 comeback win against defending champion UC Davis on Saturday. The importance of that win to the team couldn’t be overstated; it ended a three-game losing streak and gave the Rainbow Wahine a signature moment this season. It was […]

UH gives itself a chance — and capitalizes

By Brian McInnis on January 12, 2019

Two areas in particular have been season-long concerns for the Hawaii women’s basketball team. Excessive fouls committed (nearly 20 per game) and excessive turnovers (16.8). The Rainbow Wahine drastically cut down on both in stunning two-time defending Big West champion UC Davis, 65-60, on Saturday afternoon at the Stan Sheriff Center. Their nine turnovers were a season low, as were their 12 fouls. UH (5-10, 1-1 BWC) also won the rebounding battle by nine, as it was bolstered by eight […]

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