Game Notes

FRESNO, Calif.—The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team (8-11, 3-1 WAC) concludes its third roadtrip of the season at Western Athletic Conference leader, Fresno State. The 'Bows will battle the Bulldogs who are 16-4 overall and 4-0 in conference this Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Save Mart Center.

The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 72-63 win at Nevada that raised its conference record to 3-1 to tie Utah State for second place in the WAC. The win in Reno snapped the UH's eight-game losing-streak to Nevada dating back to Feb. 3, 2007 when the Rainbow Wahine last defeated the Wolf Pack in Honolulu, 74-72. The 'Bows last road win over Nevada came a year earlier, on Jan. 5, 2006 when UH won 79-74. Hawai`i has now won its last three games and they are 3-1 in conference for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Reigning Verizon WAC Player of the Week, sophomore forward Kamilah Jackson, has continued her steady play into the conference season. She is currently No. 14 in the NCAA rankings for rebounds per game with 10.6 and she is No. 6 in the nation with 11 double-doubles on the season. Currently, Jackson's 10.6 rebounds leads the WAC and she leads UH with 14.4 points per game. Fellow sophomore Vicky Tagalicod is second on the team, averaging 11.3 points per game to go with her 4.5 rebounds per game, while senior Breanna Arbuckle is third with 9.1 points per game. Arbuckle continues to move up the career-shot blocking chart and is now just two shy of tying former UH standout, Jeanne Wade, for fourth place in program history with 134 blocks. Arbuckle has swatted a team-high 31 shots this season and has 132 for her career.
 
Last time out...
Tagalicod poured in a career-high 20 points to lead UH over Nevada, 72-69 at the Lawlor Events Center on Thursday night. Tagalicod, a mid-season transfer from USC and Hilo High School, went 7-of-9 from the floor--including a pair of 3-pointers. She was also 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Jackson notched her 11th double-double of the season with 17 points, 11 rebounds with a career-high seven assists. It was a total team effort as all10 Rainbow Wahine contributed to the win. It was just UH's second road WAC win in two seasons. Hawai`i shot an amazing 77.3% from the floor (17-of-22) in the second half and finished the game shooting 55.1% from the floor (27-of-49). UH also fared well at the free-throw line, hitting 14-of-19—including 8-of-10 within the last two minutes of the game. Nevada out-rebounded UH, 40-to-38, however the 'Bows battled to score 40 points in the paint to Nevada's 18 and UH's bench outscored the Wolf Pack, 19-to-11.

Scouting Fresno State
Head Coach Adrian Wiggins has the Bulldogs rolling, winning their last 11-of-12 games with sophomore guard Ki-Ki Moore leading her squad with 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Junior post player Rosie Moult is second on the team with 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and 5.1 rebounds a game with a team-high 50 steals. Moult has also drained a team-high 52 3-pointers. Sophomore point guard Taylor Thompson has a team-high 84 assists with 38 steals 8.7 points per game. Fresno State implements a four-guard offense that specializes in perimeter shooting that leads the league making 195-out-of-546 3-pointer and they also have a league-high 346 assists.  In conference action, the Bulldogs are a scoring machine with a +22.8 scoring margin through the first four games of the WAC season.
 
Game 20 Tip-off Notes
Who: Hawai'i (8-11, 3-1 WAC) at Fresno State (16-4, 4-0 WAC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Save Mart Center (16,116) - Fresno, Calif.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available for a fee at gobulldogs.com
Audio Webcast: Live audeo streaming is available at gobulldogs.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at gobulldogs.com.
Coaches: Dana Takahara-Dias is in her third year at UH with an overall record of 29-50 and a WAC record of 12-24. Fresno State head coach Adrian Wiggins is in his seventh season and has a career record of 203-81 in nine seasons as a head coach. At Fresno State, he is 163-64 overall with a WAC mark of 90-18 in seven seasons.
Series Information: Hawai'i holds a slight edge over Fresno State, 25-24 all-time. However, Fresno State has won the last 11 meetings in a row. The Rainbow Wahine's last win over Fresno State in Honolulu on Feb. 15, 2007 (79-65). Hawai`i's last win at Fresno State came on Jan. 3, 2004 when UH defeated the Bulldogs in a thrilling 48-46 game.