Game Notes

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (4-8, 0-1 Big West) looks to bounce back against the Highlanders at UC Riverside (7-5, 0-1 Big West). The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 74-83 loss at  Cal State Fullerton on Thursday.

Junior forward Kamilah Martin continues play solid in the post and she is averaging just under a double-double to lead UH with 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She also is tied for the team-high with 25 assists and is tops for UH with 13 steals. Martin, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, has been the high-rebounder for all 12 games this year and has been the high-point scorer in nine of those 12 games. In UH's Big West opener at Cal State Fullerton, Martin poured in 23 points to tie her season-high with eight boards and four assists.

Freshman Ashleigh Karaitiana is second on the team overall, averaging 8.9 points a game and is third with 5.3 rebounds. The versatile Karaitiana is also second on the team with nine treys made and third with seven steals.

Fellow freshman Destiny King returned to the court after missing UH's last two games due to an injury suffered against LIU Brooklyn last week. She came in off the bench midway through the second half scored four points with four boards and two assists. Overall, King is averaging 7.7 points amd 4.6 boards.
 
Last time out...
The Rainbow Wahine fell in their Big West opener at Cal State Fullerton, 83-74. Three UH players scored in double figures for UH, led by Kamilah Martin's 23 points which tied her season high. Martin and Ashleigh Karaitiana both had a game-high eight rebounds at Titan Gym on Thursday night. For Martin, it was the fourth time this season that she broke the 20-point mark and the ninth time this season that she's been the team's high-scorer. Martin was an efficient 7-of-9 in field goals and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. She also tied her season-high with four assists with a steal. Karaitiana added 10 points—9 of which came in the first half. She sunk 4-of-10 field goals and dished out a season-high four assists. Shawna-Lei Kuehu had her best game of the season, scoring 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, a steal and a game-high two blocked shots.

For the fifth straight game and seventh time this season, UH out-rebounded their opponents, 37-to-18 which in-turn led to the 'Bows outscoring the Titans 14-to-3 in second chance points. Hawai`i's post players also outscored Fullerton, 36-to-20 in points in the paint. However, the Rainbow Wahine struggled to contain on defense, allowing two Cal State Fullerton players score at least 20 points—including Butler who tied a UH opponent-record with seven 3-pointers made with a total of 27 points. The Titan's press forced UH to make unfortunate decisions with the ball which in turn, led to 36 CSUF points off of Hawai`i's miscues. For Hawai`i, the 24 turnovers was a season-high for the team that tied the program all-time low of four last week against LIU Brooklyn (Dec. 18).

The Rainbow Wahine are now 18-11 in conference season openers and 7-5 in road conference openers. It marked the first game for the Rainbow Wahine in the Big West in 16 years. UH is now 11-2 in Big West openers.
 
About the UC Riverside Highlanders
The Highlanders fell in their conference opener against Cal State Northridge, 48-65. Overall UCR is led by the Big West's No. 2 and No. 4-ranked scorers, TreShonti Nottingham and Brittany Crain respectively. Nottingham is a one-woman wrecking crew averaging 20.3 points per game with a team-high 23-made 3-pointers and 88 made free throws in 96 attempts. She also leads UCR with 51 assists and 38 steals. Crain averages 14.5 points and is second on the team with 6.2 boards a game with 22 steals and 15 assists. Natasha Hadley has a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game while Kiara Harewood leads UCR with 14 blocked shots.
 
Head coach Head Coach: John Margaritis is in his 15th season overall and has a career record of 244-205. He has led the Highlanders for the past nine seasons with a 134-125 record.
 
Game 13: Hawai`i at UC Riverside 
Who: Hawai'i (4-8, 0-1 Big West) vs. UC Riverside (7-5, 0-1 Big West)
When: Jan. 5, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Where: SRC Arena (2,750) – Riverside, Calif.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming this week's games will be available on BigWestTV.com.
Audio webcast: Live audio streaming will be available for the game at www.gohighlanders.com.
Live Stats: Live stats are available at gohighlanders.com
Series History: Hawai'i won the only meeting between these teams back in 2009, a 63-58 victory in Riverside.