Flattered as University of Hawai‘i women's basketball head coach Laura Beeman may be toward another edition of a night celebrating her, the 14th-year head coach never wants to be the focus.
On the floor, a young Rainbow Wahine team that features seven freshman initially struggled with the rigors of Big West play, starting their conference slate with five consecutive losses. Since then, Hawai‘i has rattled off five straight victories, its latest victory a 55-50 win over conference leader UC Irvine on Thursday night.
The 'Bows (11-9, 5-5 Big West Conference) began their 2025-2026 campaign 4-0, their best start in 25 years. That was followed by five consecutive losses, two nonconference wins, then a string of four straight losses. The Rainbow Wahine are experiencing their hottest streak of the year in time for its Saturday night game against Long Beach State, which also serves as the third edition of Beeman's Big Bash.
While tipoff on Saturday night its set for 7 p.m., the festivities for the night honoring Beeman are set to begin a handful of hours beforehand. The Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex will host the "Wahine Experience" from 4-6 p.m., where fans are able to meet the UH athletes that compete in women's sports. During the game, promotions will include free foam fingers for the first 500 fans, giveaways including shirts and other team gear, as well as a four-shot challenge for a semester of free UH-Mānoa tuition. Following the game, members of the UH women's basketball team will hold an autograph session.
The Rainbow Wahine are 2-0 thus far in Beeman's Big Bash games. The Rainbow Wahine play hard for Beeman, who in turn has deferred the motivation away from herself.
"Every coach wants kids to play hard for them. I first really hope they want to play hard for themselves," Beeman said. "I think that level of confidence is amazing for a young woman. If they want to play hard for us as a coaching staff, I think that's amazing. I want them to feel that way about me as their head coach, because I respect them, because we're trying to put them in a position to be their best, not because it's a demand. It's a different feeling for me when they play hard and say, 'Yeah, I want to play for my coach.' I want it to be because they respect me because of how I respect them.
"Beeman's Big Bash is amazing. It's humbling to have a community that wants to support this, a department that wants to do this. For me, it really makes me think about just my years of coaching, how long I've been doing this, how much sacrifice my family always makes for my crazy career. And so to me, it's not about Laura Beeman. To me, it's really about this program and where this program is, and the players who have put us in this position for years and years. My name is on the tag, but it's really the last 14 years of players and staff that put my name on the tag."
Teyahna Bond, one of the team's seven freshman, has yet to play in a Beeman's but has certainly heard the lore.
"I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard the atmosphere is pretty good," Bond said. "Really excited to play in front of a home crowd. I know they always bring it."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
