The University of Hawai‘i women's basketball team is headed to Maui for the weekend, taking part in the Maui Classic for the first time.
Established in 2016, the Maui Classic is a multi-team tournament hosted annually by Oregon State. Despite being the only NCAA Division I team in the state, the Rainbow Wahine did not participate until the 2025 edition, which tips off on Friday.
"Because of the timing, we haven't been able to do it until this year," Rainbow Wahine head coach Laura Beeman said. "It just so happened that we were able to get in touch with them pretty early and get on the schedule. And it worked out, so we're really excited."
The 2025 Maui Classic field features four teams, all of which participated in postseason play last season. Liberty, Montana State and Oregon State reached the NCAA Tournament, while the 'Bows were in the WBIT in March.
"We have a new, young team," senior forward Imani Perez said. "I think just the competition of veteran teams and just really, really good competitive teams in general is really good for us. ... It gets us prepared for anything."
All games will take place on the campus of Seabury Hall in Makawao. The Rainbow Wahine will open with Liberty on Friday at 7:30 p.m., then close with Montana State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"I don't get to go to other islands much, so this is kind of fun, and obviously, to play the sport that you love with the team, with other girls, the younger ones experience a different island as well," Perez said. "But we're there for business."
The Rainbow Wahine jumped out to a 4-0 start, their best start since the 2000-2001 season, but have lost five of their last six games since, including their first two games of Big West Conference play at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton. For a team that has seven freshmen, Beeman and the 'Bows are searching for more consistency across the board.
"We've had four or five really, really good days of practice. I think that the intensity needed and did go up. Some of the areas where we had a lot of slippage, with boards and turnovers, we put a lot of focus on that," Beeman said.
Though Hawai‘i is taking part in the Maui Classic for the first time, the program visited Maui in 2024, playing an exhibition game against Chaminade. Playing in front of fans on neighbor islands who otherwise may not have the opportunity to watch the team is something the 'Bows do not take for granted.
"To have little girls and little boys (from Maui) be able to see us come over and see us, I think that's special for them," Beeman said. "We are going to represent the state and our school the way we always do — we're gonna play hard."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
