Tournament Notes

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (11-18, 5-11 WAC) enters its 15th straight Western Athletic Conference championship tournament as the seventh seed. The 'Bows are coming off an epic comeback performance in which they erased an early 21-point deficit to defeat Utah State, 72-71 in overtime. Hawai`i will open against sixth seeded New Mexico State in the first round on Wednesday, March 9 at 8:30 pm at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

 

The 'Bows split their games with the Aggies this season, with Hawai`i falling in Honolulu, 58-74 but winning in Las Cruces, 57-52. The win at NMSU snapped two road losing streaks. First, the 18-game Western Athletic Conference losing skid was broken. UH's last WAC road win came on Jan. 30, 2009 at Utah State, 63-61. It also snapped UH's 19-game DI road losing streak. Hawai`i's previous road win was their 2009-10 season opener at UC Riverside, 63-58 on 11/17/09). UH defeated Division II BYU-H in Laie last season 76-46 on Dec. 4, 2009.

 

After going winless in the first round of the WAC, the 'Bows rebounded to go 5-3 in the second round en route to earning a spot in the tournament. The 'Bows notched wins over Boise State, Idaho, New Mexico State, San Jose State, and Utah State. As a team, Hawai`i led the WAC in conference games in rebounding (42.7), and ranked second in blocks (4.19), rebounding margin (5.0) and field goal percentage defense (37.7).

 

The Rainbow Wahine are led by reigning Verizon WAC Player of the Week Kamilah Jackson, who recorded her UH freshman record 12th double-double against Utah State with 21 points and 19 rebounds off the bench. She has been consistent all season long, leading the 'Bows with 11.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. Her 12.0 rebounds is fourth-best in the nation while the 25 rebounds she corralled against CSU Bakersfield remains tied for the most rebounds in a DI game this season with Leanne Crrockett of Central Connecticut State. Her 19 boards against the Aggies, pushed her past UH All-American Judy Mosely for the freshman single-season rebounding record and moved into fifth place in UH single-season rebounding history with 323 total rebounds.

 

What: Hawai'i (11-18, 5-11 WAC) vs. New Mexico State (13-17, 7-9 WAC)

Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Time: 8:30 p.m. PST

Where: Orleans Arena (7,471) - Las Vegas, Nev.

Television: None

Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available at WAC.tv.

Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live with Bobby Curran handling the (play-by-play). Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona.

Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com

Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at wacsports.com

Ticket Prices: Women's all-session tickets should be purchased through the Orleans Arena $35 (general admission)

Coach: Dana Takahara-Dias is in her second year at UH (21-38).