For the fourth consecutive year, the Hawaii women’s basketball team is picked to win the Big West Conference, according to a vote of the 11 conference coaches. The conference announced Thursday that the Rainbow Wahine finished with four first-place votes and a total of 91 points, edging out UC Irvine by a single point. The Anteaters also received four first-place votes.
Senior forward Imani Perez and sophomore center Ritorya Tamilo were named to the seven-person All-Big West preseason team. Hawaii concluded last season with an overall record of 22-10 and a 16-4 mark in conference play, securing first place in the regular season. However, UH was eliminated in the semifinals of the Big West Championships for the second consecutive year.
Perez, who earned a spot on the All-Big West Defensive team last year, averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, along with 32 blocked shots. Tamilo, one of 11 players on this season’s roster from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or Italy, set the program record for blocked shots by a freshman last year with 41.
In the preseason poll, UC Davis, which received one first-place vote, is ranked third, followed by UC San Diego with two first-place votes.
Hawaii will open the season with exhibition games against Chaminade on Tuesday and Hawaii Pacific on October 28. The regular season begins at home against Portland State on November 4.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/10/17/sports/basketball-coaches-choose-hawaii-women-to-win-conference/