TOURNAMENT NOTES

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai`i women's basketball team wraps up its non-conference preseason schedule with the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Invitational, Dec. 28-30. The 'Bows will be hosting LIU Brooklyn, Cincinnati and Alabama in the three day tournament. For Hawai`i (2-6), it will be their first DI action in 27 days with a 72-62 exhibition win over Hawai`i Pacific on Dec. 1 in between. UH's last DI game was against Utah on Dec. 1 when the 'Bows ended the game on a 16-2 run and fell just short of completing an epic comback, 62-61.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are led by junior forward Kamilah Martin who is averaging just under a double-double with 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. Martin has led UH in rebounds in every game this season and has leads the team with 17 assists (tied with Destiny King) and 10 steals. Martin has recorded three double-doubles this season against UT Martin, Oregon and No. 13 Oklahoma. Destiny King is second on the team with 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The true freshman guard/forward has registered double-figures in points in four games this season. Fellow rookie Ashleigh Karaitiana has also been solid this season and is third on the team in scoring with 8.8 points per game and second with 5.5 boards per game.
 
It will be the first official game back for sophomore center Kalei Adolpho who joins the basketball team after helping the UH womens' volleyball team to an undefeated Big West championship and the second round of the NCAA tournament. Last season as a freshman, Adolpho appeared in a total of 21 games with two starts. She twice scored a career-high 14 points, against Fresno State (Jan. 28) and Denver (Dec. 19) in which she notched her first career double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Adolpho blocked a career-high four shots twice against North Carolina State (Dec. 30) and San Jose State (Feb. 11) tallied game-highs in rebounds four times and once in points. She finished the season third on the team averaging 6.4 rebounds and third with 134 total rebounds. Adolpho averaged 19.4 minutes and 6.0 points per game with a 41.2 field goal percentage.
 
Also making her return to the hardcourt is Shawna-Lei Kuehu. The junior wing suffered an inury in the season opener at San Francisco and has seen action in just one game since. In the exhibition game against HPU, Kuehu played 16 minutes and scored eight points with three rebounds and two assists off the bench.
 
About the competition…

LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds (3-5, 0-0 Northeast Conference)
LIU Brooklyn comes to Honolulu with a 3-5 non-conference record. Last week, the Blackbirds snapped a two-game losing streak with a 63-54 win over Ohio University (Dec. 21). Krystal Wells leads LIU averaging 11.5 points per game and has done her damage from long-range, sinking 18-of-39 (.462) from beyond the 3-point arch. She also leads the Blackbirds with 11 steals and is third with 10 assists. Tamika Guz is second on the squad with 8.8 points and is LIU's leading shot-blocker with seven while Cleandra Roberts is close behind with 8.7 points per game and a team-high 8.0 boards an outing. Kelly Robinson has dished out a team-high 44 assists.
 
 
Cincinnati Bearcats (7-3, 0-0 Big East)
The Bearcats has won six of their last eight games, including a Dec. 21 win over Belmont, 68-54. Cincinnati is led by guard Dayeesha Hollins who is scoring 17.8 points per game. She also has a team-high 17 steals and is second on the team with 19 assists in eight games played. Tiffany Turner is second on the team with 9.5 points and leads Cincinnati with 9.1 rebounds per game. Lesha Dunn has a team-high 10 blocked shots and is third on the squad with 8.8 points per game. She is also second on the team with 6.6 rebounds and 66 total boards. Head's up for Kayla Cook who is the only Bearcat to start all 10 games—she leads Cincinnati with 26 assists and 11 3-pointers made.
  
 
Alabama Crimson Tide (7-3, 0-0 Southeastern Conference)
Alabama makes its first trip to Hawaii with a 7-3 overall record. They are coming off a double-overtime home win over Virginia, 73-70. Four Alabama players are averaging over 10 points per game and all four of those players also have at least 20 steals apiece. The Crimson Tide are led by Daisha Simmons' 13.7 points per game. She also leads the Tide with 37 steals and 41 assists. Shafontay Myers has come off the bench to average 12.4 points per game and has sunk a team-high 28-of-112 3-pointers. Jasmine Robinson has scored 12.0 points per game while Meghan Perkins has posted 10.3 points per game and is second on the team with 5.5 boards and 22 assists. Reserve player Alicia Mitcham has cleaned the glass well and leads UA with 6.3 rebounds a game.   
 
BANK OF HAWAII RAINBOW WAHINE INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
Who: Hawai'i (2-6, 0-0 Big West); LIU Brooklyn (3-5, 0-0 NEC); Cincinnati (7-3, 0-0 Big East); Alabama (7-3, 0-0 SEC)
When: December 28-30, 2012
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) – Honolulu, O'ahu
Television: All three of UH's tournament games will be televised live statewide on OCSports – Channels 16 (SD) and 1016 (HD). Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Lori Santi (color) will be handling the broadcast.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming this week's games will be available on ocsports.tv and can also be seen on BigWestTV.com.
Radio: ESPN 1500 The Buzz will air Friday's game between UH and LIU Brooklyn while ESPN 1420 am will carry UH's games against Cincinnati and Alabama. Dave Kawada (play-by-play) and Tiff Wells (color) will be handling the broadcast duties. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, and KTOH on Kaua'i.
Audio webcast: Live audio streaming will be available ONLY for Saturday's and Sunday's games on www.espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket information: general admission-adult: $7; General Admission-Senior Citizen: $5; Students (ages 4-high school): $3; UH Manoa Students receive admission to regular season home games by presenting a valid UH I.D.
Promotions: Bank of Hawai'i is the tournament sponsor and will award great prizes at halftime. Sign up at the sports marketing table near Gate A for your chance to participate in the BankOhana Hug halftime contest. Also, Beanie Babies will be thrown into the crowd during a timeout of each UH game.