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Women's Basketball

2025-26 Women's Basketball Season in Review

Women's Basketball Team Photo 2025-26

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Rainbow Wahine completed the 2025-26 season with a record of 22-11 and 14-6 in the Big West. 
  • After getting out to a 6-9 start overall and 0-5 in Big West play, the ’Bows went on a 16-1 run to reach the Big West Championship final. 
  • The 2025-26 season marked UH’s aloha season in the Big West before joining the Mountain West, effective July 1, 2026. The Rainbow Wahine went 288-153 over 25 years in the conference and won six regular-season titles and four Big West Championship titles. 
  • UH head coach Laura Beeman announced her retirement from coaching following the season. Beeman closed her 14-year career at UH with an overall record of 244-180 overall and 160-79 in the Big West. 
  • Khalilah Mitchell, a Rainbow Wahine assistant coach for seven seasons, was selected to succeed Beeman as the program’s ninth head coach. 
  • The Rainbow Wahine again ranked among the nation’s top defensive teams. The ’Bows finished the season fourth in NCAA Division I in blocks per game and fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense.
  • UH shattered the program’s single-season blocked shots record with 206 blocks.
  • Bailey Flavell was named Big West Freshman of the Year after breaking the program’s freshman scoring record with 415 points. 
  • Imani Perez led the Big West with 52 blocked shots and rose to sixth in program history with 131 career blocks.

SEASON IN MOTION

The Rainbow Wahine recovered from a 6-9 start to put together a remarkable run in winning 16 of their next 17 games. After climbing to fourth in the regular-season race, the 'Bows pulled out back-to-back overtime wins over Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine in the Credit Union 1 Big West Women's Basketball Championship to advance to the tournament final.

BLOCK PARTY

The Rainbow Wahine set a program record with 206 blocked shots, soaring past the previous mark of 163 set in the 2002-03 season. 

AWARDS & HONORS

WBB All-Big West 2026
Bailey Flavell

Bailey Flavell

  • Big West Freshman of the Year
  • All-Big West Second Team
  • Big West All-Freshman Team
  • Bank of Hawai'i Classic All-Tournament Team
  • Rainbow Wahine Showdown All-Tournament Team
  • Credit Union 1 Big West Women's Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team
  • UH Athletics Rookie of the Year
  • Set the program freshman scoring record with 415 points, breaking the previous mark set by Judy Mosley in 1987.
WBB Ritorya Tamilo vs. UCSD

Ritorya Tamilo

  • Big West Best Sixth Player
  • Bank of Hawai‘i Classic MVP
  • Preseason All-Big West Team
  • CSC Academic All-District
  • Big West Winter Academic All-Conference
  • Sixth player in program history to earn the Big West Sixth Player of the Year award.
  • Ranked second in the Big West and 55th in the nation with 1.55 blocks per game.
Imani Perez

Imani Perez

  • All-Big West Second Team
  • Big West All-Defensive Team
  • Team Defensive Award
  • Ah Chew Goo / Most Valuable Team Player Award
  • Led the Big West and ranked 46th in the nation with 52 blocked shots and 1.63 blocks per game.
  • Ranked seventh in program history in blocked shots in a single season.
  • Finished sixth in program history with 131 career blocked shots.
  • Ranked second in program history in career field-goal percentage (.520) and career 3-point field-goal percentage (.390).
Saniyah Neverson

Saniyah Neverson

  • All-Big West Second Team
  • Big West Winter Academic All-Conference
  • One of two players to start all 33 games. Averaged 24.9 minutes per game.
  • Led the team with 33 steals. Set a career high with five against Long Beach State (March 5).
  • Ranked second on the team with 9.8 points per game.
  • Ranked third on the team with a .494 field-goal percentage.
  • Shot 57.7% from the field in Big West games to lead the conference.
Curtis dribble

Keiara Curtis

  • Big West All-Freshman Team
  • Led the team with 70 assists with a high of six at UC Riverside (March 5).
  • Ranked third on the team with 9.0 points per game.

CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS

WBB CSC Academic All-District 2025-26

BEEMAN'S BIG BASH

The Rainbow Wahine hosted Long Beach State on January 31st for the third iteration of Beeman's Big Bash. The event drew a crowd of 4,671, which was the largest since the inaugural Beeman's Big Bash in 2024 which drew 5,068. UH improved to 3-0 in the event with a win over Long Beach State highlighted by Ella Collins' layup in the final seconds of a 67-44 victory.

MAHALO, SENIORS

Hawai'i honored seniors Imani Perez, Saniyah Neverson and Izzy Forsyth  after a 67-49 win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 28 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

WBB Seniors vs. Cal State Fullerton

ALOHA, COACH BEEMAN

University of Hawai'i head women's basketball coach Laura Beeman announced her retirement from coaching on March 30. Beeman, the eighth head coach in program history, departed after 14 seasons at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine. Beeman finished her tenure at UH with an overall record of 244-180, including a 160-79 record in Big West play. She earned four Big West Coach of the Year honors (2015, 2022, 2024 and 2025) and her teams captured four Big West regular-season titles and three conference tournament championships.

START OF A NEW ERA

Khalilah Mitchell was officially announced as the Rainbow Wahine basketball program's ninth head coach on April 21. Mitchell spent a total of seven seasons as an assistant coach on the UH staff and helped guide the Rainbow Wahine to four postseason appearances and three Big West regular-season championships. The 'Bows went 124-81 during her tenure as an assistant and posted at least 20 wins in each of her last four seasons with the program.

#SISTAHHOOD X #HawaiiWBB