Hawai‘i women’s basketball set for Beeman’s Bigger Bash

Beeman’s Bigger Bash, an event centered around celebrating University of Hawai‘i women’s basketball coach Laura Beeman, is set for Saturday when the Rainbow Wahine host UC Irvine at the Stan Sheriff Center at 7 p.m.

The event follows Beeman’s Big Bash in 2024, which was aimed towards breaking an attendance record in the Beeman era. The efforts put forth by UH’s marketing department were successful, as a turnstile count of 4,080 attended. The previous home game high for Beeman, who took over in 2012, was 3,491 in a March 7, 2015 contest against Cal State Fullerton.

As much as Beeman would want the attention diverted to other members of the program, she expressed appreciation towards the gesture and hopes fans who attend on Saturday feel intrigued enough to attend more games in the future.

“I don't know if that means there will be another one next year eventually, but the fact that we can do it two times in a row and hopefully break the record, it's just really fun,” Beeman said. “It's very humbling to have an event like this.”

As evidenced by the event’s title, organizers are hoping for more on Saturday, setting sights on the program attendance record of 6,192 in a Feb. 14, 1998 game against SMU.

Adding to Saturday’s atmosphere is another unique initiative in which the Rainbow Wahine will wear special uniforms.

Last fall, Hawai‘i’s athletics department held a contest in which fans submitted designs for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s new uniforms. Isaac Daggett, a Colorado native, won the contest with his design, winning a fan vote from a pool that included over 125 submissions from more than 20 states and five countries. After the ‘Bows wear Daggett’s design come to life on Saturday, the uniforms will be auctioned off to support the program.  

In 2025, the event comes at a critical juncture in Hawai‘i’s schedule. At 11-6 overall and 5-2 in Big West play, the Rainbow Wahine are currently in fourth place in the conference standings. UC Davis, Hawai‘i’s opponent on Thursday, is in third (12-6, 6-2 Big West). Then on Saturday, the Rainbow Wahine will take the floor against UC Irvine, the defending Big West Tournament champion and current leader at 12-5 overall and 6-1 in conference games.

“It's really cool. There’s the emotion behind it…it's not like, ‘Oh, look at Laura Beeman,’ but it is really cool when your community comes out and supports an event that is trying to break records,” Beeman said. “I think the community comes out, sure, to support me.

"I think that's fabulous, but I also know they want to see these kids be successful. I hope we break the record, and not because I want my name on that. I hope we break the record because I have a feeling against Irvine, we're going to need a great sixth man, and to have six, seven, eight thousand screaming people in this arena, if we can get that many, would be absolutely phenomenal. Any time there's something named after you, done for you, you have to take that with a grain of salt and it’s very humbling. I've said it a lot: Hawaii is my home, and so when people want to come out and support me, it's just very cool.”

The Rainbow Wahine have become an annual Big West contender under Beeman’s watch, winning the Big West Tournament and making the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the ’Bows won the Big West regular season title but fell in the conference tournament semifinals. Still, UH’s success in the regular season earned garnered an invite to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. The Rainbow Wahine have reached postseason play for three consecutive years. By contrast, the UH men’s basketball team hasn’t played in the postseason since 2016.  

For players like starting forward Imani Perez, Beeman’s Bigger Bash provides extra motivation towards their head coach.  

“It was really exciting last year. We hyped it up a lot, and I felt like everyone else in the community was really excited,” Perez recalled of Beeman’s Big Bash in 2024. “That got us excited, that people wanted to watch us play and celebrate Beeman. And now we get to do it again, but bigger, so that's really exciting.  

“I feel like I'm really close with Beeman. She's been there for me a lot, and she's helped me grow my game and be confident. She continues to do so and gives me reminders.”