The smoke had yet to clear from the University of Hawai‘i's grandiose pre-game introduction for the third edition of Beeman's Big Bash, but that wasn't going to delay tipoff on Saturday night.
From beginning to end, the Rainbow Wahine gave an energetic Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 2,792 reason to cheer in a 67-44 rout over Long Beach State on Saturday night. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 12-9 overall and 6-5 in Big West Conference play, winning their sixth straight game. They also improved to 3-0 in Beeman's Big Bash games, the night that annually honors Lauara Beeman, the program's head coach.
Running away with the victory wasn't enough for the 'Bows, who were up by 21 points when the shot clock was turned off in the final seconds. After a Rebecca Moors block, reserve freshman guard Ella Collins raced down the floor for a breakaway layup with 12.2 seconds remaining. Hundreds of children in the crowd were clamoring for the Rainbow Wahine to reach 67 points, the number that has become a social phenomenon for youngsters of all ages.
Basketball etiquette normally calls for a team with a large lead to dribble out the clock to end the game. Coaches on the winning side will typically ensure that their players are doing as such, but Beeman let this one slide.
"If we hit 6-7 (points), the roof is probably going to come off, just because of all the kids in here that know what it is, and it is a big thing on all the social media platforms. Super happy for Ella to ride that layup out. No disrespect to Long Beach, scoring a layup when we're up by so much. But if we wouldn't have let her do that, I think the fans would have come on the floor and maybe attacked us," Beeman joked.
"I don't think it's hurting anybody. I think it's silly and fun. If it was hurting somebody, I wouldn't want to. ... But if this gets people excited, and they can have some fun, who cares? Let people have fun. And what we got going on in our world today, a little bit of fun, everybody needs it."
Imani Perez had a team-high 15 points for the Rainbow Wahine, while Ritorya Tamilo added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. But it was Collins who stole the show despite playing just one minute of garbage time.
"Definitely when I caught the ball, I was thinking about it. But then it just comes down to second nature and how hard we practice. So, that layup for me was just making the fans (happy) at the end of the day," said Collins, who engaged in the 6-7 meme with a crowd of keiki following the game.
A bevy of promotions were scattered throughout the night, including fan gift giveaways, which included UH gift bags, T-shirt tosses into the crowd, and an autograph session after the victory. Even before the game, UH held its first-ever 'Wahine Experience' from 4 to 6 p.m., a free event where fans could interact with members of every women's team on campus at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Hawai‘i also set a target of 67 points in order to activate a 7-11 spam musubi toss for the crowd. The musubi toss was activated prior to the team's 20-point barrage in the fourth quarter.
Hawai‘i's starting lineup was introduced to a line of drummers and a smoke machine, setting the tone for the night of festivities.
In total, 4,671 tickets were sold, the most since the inaugural Beeman's Big Bash in 2024. Meanwhile, the turnstile count was the highest since the 2025 edition of the game.
"There's nothing like having a great fanbase. There's nothing like putting a lot of people in seats. The energy they give these kids is phenomenal," Beeman said. "The chants of 'defense' and the excitement for a blocked shot, and all of the different things that occur when we have people filling up the lower bowl, our kids hear that noise. It just gives them some great juice and great energy. I absolutely love the support. I just feel so lucky to be the head coach at the University of Hawai‘i, to have this kind of support."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
