Game Notes

SAN FRANCISCO—First year University of Hawai'i women's basketball coach Laura Beeman and the Rainbow Wahine begin a new era this week as the 'Bows travel to San Francisco to battle the Dons on Friday, Nov. 9 at the War Memorial Gym on the USF campus. It is just the sixth time in school history that UH will open their season on the road. Last year the Rainbow Wahine posted an 11-19 overall record and a 6-8 mark in conference action. Hawai'i is 25-13 in season openers.
 
Six Hawai'i letterwinners return for the 2012-13 season—including five juniors and one sophomore. UH is led by all-WAC forward Kamilah (Jackson) Martin who finished last season ranked No. 13 in the NCAA with 10.6 rebounds per game and No. 15 in the nation with 16 double-doubles as a sophomore. After just two seasons, Martin has already begun her ascent up the career record charts and is currently ranked No. 3 in UH history with 11.9 rebounds per game and No. 4 with 333 career rebounds. Martin was one of six players voted to the Preseason All-Big West Team and she became the first Rainbow Wahine since 2008 and just the 12th individual UH player to earn all-WAC honors last year as a sophomore.
 
The 2012-13 season also marks the return of guard/forward Shawna-Lei Kuehu who missed all but seven games last season due to personal reasons. As a redshirt-freshman, she earned all-WAC freshman team honors after after averaging 5.1 rebounds and 9.4 points per game with 64 assists, 26 blocks, and 45 steals.
 
UH welcomes into the fold eight highly-touted newcomers to their squad—including three true freshmen; one redshirt freshman; four transfers; and a two-sport senior playing her final year of eligibility. Look for several of the rookies will be looked upon to make an early impact, including freshman guard/forward Destiny King, redshirt freshman Ashleigh Karaitiana, and senior point guard transfer Monica DeAngelis.
 
The 'Bows lost five letterwinners from last year's team, including a key starters, Breanna Arbuckle and point guard Alyssa Campanero. Arbuckle started all 30 games and led the team with 45 blocked shots and was second on the team with 301 total points, 189 rebounds, 65 assists, and 26 steals. Also completing their eligibility were seniors Rebecca Dew, Courtney Gaddis, and Carlotta Mingo.
 
This year, the Rainbow Wahine make their return to the Big West Conference after spending the past 16 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference. Hawai'i was a member of the Big West previously from the 1988-89 season until 1995-96. UH posted a 120-49 Big West record in eight seasons and won a pair of conference titles in back-to-back seasons (1992-93 and 1993-94).
 
Beeman enters her first season at Hawai'i after being an assistant coach for the past two seasons at Southern California. Prior to 2010, Beeman was the head coach at Mt. San Antonio College from 1994-2010 where she led the Mounties to 10 conference championships and four state championships. She compiled an overall record of 390-110 (.780) and also served one season (2008-09) as an assistant with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. She is the eighth head coach since the program's inception in 1974 and she is the third female head coach in its history.
 
The 'Bows will play 21 home games (including two exhibitions) and will play 11 non-conference games with nine Big West games. UH will host three non-conference tournaments this season. Twelve opponents advanced to the postseason last year--six to the NCAA tournament and six to the WNIT.
 
About San Francisco...
The Dons posted a 5-25 overall record and a 3-13 mark for eighth place in the West Coast Conference. USF returns three starters and four letterwinners from last year and are led by senior guard Mel Khlok. She averaged 8.0 points, 1.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game with a team-high 52 steals. Fellow senior, forward Bailey Barbour, is a large 6-3 presence in the paint, averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds with a team-high 32 blocks while sophomore guard Jamie Katuna led USF with a .429 3-point percentage to go with 7.3 points per game. 



Game 1 Tip-off Notes
Who: Hawai'i (0-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. San Francisco (0-0, 0-0 West Coast Conference)
Date: Friday, Nov. 9, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Where: War Memorial Gym (7,471) - San Francisco, Calif.
Streaming Video:  Live video streaming is available at usfdons.com
Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming available at usfdons.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at usfdons.com
Coaches: Hawai'i's Laura Beeman is in her first season with the Rainbow Wahine after successful stints as a head coach at Mt. San Antonio College where she compiled a 390-110 record and as an assistant with the Los Angeles Sparks and USC. The Dons are led by former Olympian and WNBA star Jennifer Azzi who is in her third year at USF. She has a 9-50 overall record.
Series Information:  Hawai'i holds a slight lead in the series against USF, 4-3. Hawai'i has won their last three meetings, including the most recent game in Honolulu on Dec. 3, 2009, 58-48.