Upon being hired as the eighth head coach in University of Hawai‘i women’s basketball history, Laura Beeman immediately brought stability and consistency to the Rainbow Wahine program. Over her 14 years in Manoa, she crafted a legacy highlighted by three Big West Championship titles, four regular-season titles and nine postseason appearances, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Beeman concludes her tenure second only to UH Circle of Honor inductee Vince Goo in years of service and victories as head coach. Throughout her career, Beeman established a program culture based on impacting the lives of student-athletes beyond the court while pursuing excellence within the arena.

Following are some of the highlights of Beeman’s career leading the Rainbow Wahine:

Nov. 9, 2012 — Following an exhibition win over Hawai‘i Hilo, Beeman leads UH into the 2012-13 season opener at San Francisco in her NCAA Division I head coaching debut. The Rainbow Wahine fall to the Dons 65-52.

Nov. 16, 2012 — The Rainbow Wahine defeat Tennessee Martin 73-69 in the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic to post win No. 1 of Beeman’s career in her first game at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH would fall to No. 4 Stanford and No. 1 Baylor over the next two days and high-powered nonconference schedules would remain a theme of Beeman’s tenure.

March 9, 2013 — UH celebrates its first Senior Night under Beeman with a 53-43 win over Cal State Fullerton. Beeman has the team cut down the nets in a precursor to championship celebrations to come.

March 21, 2013 — The Rainbow Wahine make their first postseason appearance since 2003 with a berth in the WNIT, falling at San Diego, 61-49. UH finishes Beeman’s debut season with a 17-14 record, the program’s highest win total since the 2005-06 season.

March 21, 2014 — The ’Bows face Washington in the WNIT to make back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since a run of four consecutive WNIT berths from 2001 to ’03.

Feb. 26, 2015 — UH clinches the Big West regular-season championship with a 47-46 win at Long Beach State. The Rainbow Wahine claim the program’s first conference crown since the 1997-98 season and Beeman picks up the first of four Big West Coach of the Year awards.

March 13, 2015 — The Rainbow Wahine defeat Cal State Fullerton 73-64 in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament for their 15th consecutive win. The streak stands as the fourth longest in program history and would be the longest of Beeman’s UH career. The ’Bows close the season at 23-9 in UH’s first 20-win season since 2001-02.

March 11, 2016 — The Rainbow Wahine rout UC Davis 78-59 in the final of the Big West Championship in Anaheim, Calif., to capture the program’s second conference tournament title and first since 1996. Ashleigh Karaitiana scores 17 points and is named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

March 19, 2016 — UH makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 with a matchup against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The ’Bows close a 21-11 season with a 66-50 loss to the 10th-ranked Bruins.

Feb. 8, 2017 — UH defeats Cal State Fullerton 59-54 for the 100th win of Beeman’s UH career. Beeman becomes just the second head coach in program history to reach triple digits.

March 22, 2019 — The ’Bows return to the WNIT following a second-place showing in the Big West regular-season race and run to the conference tournament final. They close out the season with a loss at Saint Mary’s.

March 11, 2020 — UH rolls past Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Championship quarterfinals in Long Beach, Calif. A day later, the remainder of the tournament is canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to end the season.

March 5, 2022 — The ’Bows defeat UC Santa Barbara 58-52 on Senior Night to secure the Big West regular-season title for the first time since 2015. UH finishes Big West play at 13-3 and celebrates following Amy Atwell’s final home game.

March 12, 2022 — UH rolls past UC Irvine 59-48 in the Big West Championship final in Henderson, Nev., to pair the conference regular-season and tournament titles in the same season for the first time in program history.

March 18, 2022 — Amy Atwell hits six 3-pointers in a 29-point performance in a loss at Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Atwell finishes her UH career as the program’s career leader in 3-point shooting.

March 11, 2023 — Daejah Phillips completes a three-point play with 3.4 seconds left to lift UH to a 61-59 win over UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Championship final to secure a second straight NCAA Tournament berth. UH trails by 15 at halftime and overcomes a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter led by Phillips and Lily Wahinekapu.

Feb. 27, 2024 — UH draws 5,068 to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the inaugural Beeman’s Big Bash. The ’Bows fend off UC Santa Barbara 68-64 on a night highlighted by program’s second-largest attendance figure for a stand-alone game and largest of Beeman’s career.

March 9, 2024 — The Rainbow Wahine hit 17 3-pointers and give Beeman her 200th win and claim the Big West regular-season title outright with an 85-48 win at CSU Bakersfield.

March 9, 2025 — UH cuts down the nets after securing its second straight Big West regular-season championship with a 66-51 win over CSU Bakersfield. Two days later, MeiLani McBee breaks the program’s 3-point record as the ’Bows celebrate Senior Night in a rout of CSUN.

March 13, 2026 — UH continues a remarkable mid-season turnaround with a 67-63 win over UC Irvine in the Big West Championship semifinals. The ’Bows pick up their 10th straight win and 16th in 17 games by winning in overtime for a second straight day. Bailey Flavell hits a 3-pointer with 7.7 seconds left in regulation to force OT and sparks the 244th and final win of Beeman’s UH career.

March 30, 2026 — After UH’s season ends in the Big West Championship final, Beeman announces her retirement as head coach.

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