Game Notes

LONG BEACH, Calif.--The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team completes its longest roadtrip of the season thus far at UC Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 9 at The Bren Events Center. The Rainbow Wahine went over .500 in overall wins for the first time this season. The 'Bows' 61-54 win at Long Beach State raised their overall record to 11-10 and a 7-3 mark in the Big West. UH is looking to keep its share of second place with Cal Poly in the conference. The Rainbow Wahine and the Mustangs are now just one game back of league-leader Pacific, who is at 8-2.

On Thursday, the Rainbow Wahine basketball team recovered from a sluggish start to beat Long Beach State on the road at the Walter Pyramid, 61-54. The 'Bows improved to 11-10 on the season and 7-3 in the Big West Conference, and sweep the season series over the 49ers who fall to 11-11 and 4-6 in league play. The win was UH's third straight on the road--the team's longest such streak of the season. Shawna-Lei Kuehu led all scorers with 18 points and added 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Monica DeAngelis had 13 points, Destiny King added 12 more, and Kamilah Martin pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

The two teams filled the stat sheet comparably, but it was UH's slight edge at the free throw line and Kuehu's strong performance that put the 'Bows over the top. Hawai'i had five more points at the charity stripe. The 'Bows struggled out of the gate for the second straight game, as the 49ers scored the game's first 12 points. UH was held scoreless for the first 9:17 of the game before finally getting on the scoreboard on a DeAngelis jumper. Hawai'i overcame the rough start and orchestrated a 19-4 run to help take a four-point lead at halftime. The two teams battled back-and-forth in the early going of the second half. A pair of free throws by Kuehu put her team up 39-34, but Long Beach responded to tie the game at 41-41 on a Mary Ochiltree (5 pts) three-ball. Neither team led by more than a bucket from that point on until a DeAngelis three-pointer put the 'Bows ahead for good at 54-51 with 2:44 to play. Just one possession later, King followed up her own missed shot to grab the offensive board and lay the ball in to give Hawai'i a five-point lead with 1:59 remaining.

Martin continues to lead the Big West in conference games with 16.2 points per game and leads UH with 8.5 rebounds per game. Overall, Martin is averaging a career-high 15.7 points per game. Against LBSU on Thursday, she moved into second place all-time in the UH record book for career overall rebounds with 846.

Kuehu has come on strong on this roadtrip, scoring 15 and 18 points respectively at Cal State Northridge last week and Long Beach State this past Thursday. Against the 49ers, she recorded the first double -double of the season with 10 rebounds to go with her 18 points. She is just the third different Rainbow Wahine to record a double-double this

UC Irvine is currently 5-17 overall and 1-9 in Big West action. Hawai`i defeated the Anteaters in Honolulu in their home conference opener, 56-46. UCI is led by Camille Buckley and Jennifere Tsurumoto. Buckley is averaging 11.2 points per game and 9.1 rebounds while Tsurumoto is scoring 10.0 points per game with team-highs in assists (58) and steals (25).