The differences were apparent from takeoff to landing, even as the results remained unchanged.

The Hawaii women's basketball team was similarly winless on its second Western Athletic Conference road trip, but the Rainbow Wahine arrived back in Honolulu last week with their heads held higher than the previous go-round on the mainland.

And that's a good thing for the Wahine (8-12, 2-5) as they face San Jose State (5-13, 1-4) today in a battle of the bottom two teams in the conference. Picking up a win over the Spartans would give eighth-place UH important separation entering the second half of the league schedule; the ninth-place team after 16 WAC games is left home from the conference tournament in Reno, Nev.

UH absorbed lopsided decisions of 83-42 and 73-51 at Fresno State and New Mexico State earlier this month, but fell 75-62 and 73-64 in competitive road matches vs. Louisiana Tech and Boise State last week.

“;Night and day,”; first-year coach Dana Takahara-Dias said. “;You could tell just by the scores, the indicators, that we really struggled on the road the first road trip. Granted we played some very good teams in Fresno and New Mexico State. But we played a gritty second half against Louisiana Tech. It was great offensive production and great defense.

“;The loss at Boise was pretty tough knowing that we went through the whole entire game, staying in the game, staying as close as possible to get an opportunity at the end to win it. We always look at winning an away game as a golden ticket; it doesn't happen very often.”;

The 15-hour journey from Ruston, La., to Boise, Idaho, was especially difficult with just one day between games. Travel won't be a factor for the next two weeks, however, as UH enjoys another three-game homestand with Fresno and NMSU arriving next month.

Co-captain Keisha Kanekoa (team highs of 10.5 points and 3.1 assists per game) is still the only true point guard among the 10 active players on the roster. But senior forward Dita Liepkalne, the other captain, is a capable passer and stepped up her offense with double-figure scoring in both road games.

Reserves Allie Patterson and Briauna Linton have both played improved ball of late, while sophomore starter Breanna Arbuckle (8.9 ppg, 6.0 rebounds per game, 22 blocks) continues to make strides as the team's best frontcourt player.

SJSU is coming off its first league win over Idaho on Saturday.

“;Their record is not an indicator of how tough they play,”; Takahara-Dias said. “;We cannot count anyone out, we're in a fight for our lives too, and we look at every game the same way. It's going to be a tough game (tonight), but the advantage lies in the fact that we're home.”;