HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine basketball team (8-12, 2-6 WAC) begins the second round of its Western Athletic Conference schedule when its hosts Nevada (12-8, 6-1 WAC) on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m.

UH heads into the new month hoping to shake off a dismal January in which the team lost six of eight games. The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a crucial 62-57 road win at Utah State and currently sit in seventh place in the WAC standings. UH will face a streaking Nevada squad that has moved to second in conference with a five-game winning streak. The Wolf Pack won the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 11 in Reno, 69-59. The Rainbow Wahine were in the game until the final minute, but ultimately could not overcome a season-high 33 turnovers.

GAME 21 INFO
What: Hawai'i (8-12, 2-6 WAC) vs. Nevada (12-8, 6-1 WAC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m. HST
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
Television: None.
Radio: ESPN 1420 Radio will carry the game live with Kevin Hashiro (play-by-play) and Gary Dickman (color).
Streaming Video/Audio: Live webcast is available through wac.tv . Audio webcast on Sportsradio1420.com.
Live Stats: Gametracker available for UH games on HawaiiAthletics.com
Tickets: $8 (adults); $6 (senior citizens); children (ages 4-18) and UH students (w/ valid ID) FREE. Parking $3.
Promotions: Saturday is "Team Night" and all area youth teams are encouraged to wear their jerseys to the contest. Youth teams from the Police Activities League (P.A.L.) will play an exhibition game at halftime.
Series: UH leads the series, 21-7, including a 9-1 mark in Honolulu.

Shaking Up The Lineup: Head coach Jim Bolla revamped his starting lineup in UH's last game versus Utah State as three new players hit the court. Center Brittany Grice returned to the lineup for the first time since mid-December, point guard Amy Kotani earned her first start since the second game of the season and freshman wing Megan Tinnin gained her first career starting nod. The result: a 62-57 win over the Aggies, including a 17-point effort by Tinnin.

The Secret Is Out: Megan Tinnin's 17-point outburst at Utah State put the Western Athletic Conference on notice. Tinnin entered the game having played in less than half of UH's contests (eight games) and averaged just over six minutes per appearance. Upon making her first start against Utah State, the freshman from Albuquerque, NM, proceeded to nail six-of-nine shots from the floor, including four three-pointers in 34 minutes of action. One of the team's top long-range shooters, Tinnin more than doubled her scoring total for the season (14).

Iron Woman: Senior froward Pam Tambini has played every single minute in the last five UH games, including the full 45 in UH's overtime loss at Fresno State on Jan. 13. The native of San Jose, Calif., has played 226 consecutive minutes and last exited a game at the 1:44 mark of first half in UH's loss at Nevada on Jan. 11 . Tambini is one of just two players - along with junior forward Tanya Smith - to start all 20 games this year. She is second (33.4) to Janevia Taylor (35.0) in minutes per game, but since WAC play has started, has averaged a team leading 38.1 minutes per game.

Scouting Nevada: Nevada (12-8, 6-1) currently sits in second place in the WAC standings, one game behind first-place Boise State...the Wolf Pack have reeled off five straight wins, a streak that started Jan. 11 with a 69-59 win over UH in Reno...Nevada is 3-1 in WAC road games so far this year, including impressive wins at Louisiana Tech (55-54) and Fresno State (68-61)... the Wolf Pack were selected fourth by the media and third by coaches, including one first-place vote, in the respective preseason polls...Dellena Criner (14.4 ppg) and Traci Graham (13.1 ppg) lead a balanced Wolf Pack attack...the Wolf Pack host Louisiana Tech on Thursday before traveling to Honolulu for Saturday's matchup.

-UH-