2013 Big West Tournament Bracket
Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif.—The No. 3 seeded University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (17-12, 13-5 Big West) are in Southern California to begin play in the 2013 Big West Tournament. The resurgent Rainbow Wahine finished tied for second in the regular season standings, but Cal Poly earned the No. 2 seed with the tie-breaker being how the teams fared against the top team in the BWC. Hawai'i earned a bye to the quarterfinals and awaits the lowest seeded team following Tuesday's first round matchups between No. 8 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 5 Long Beach State and No. 7 UC Davis vs. No. 6 Cal State Northridge. The Wahine will play at 6:00 pm., with No. 4 UC Santa Barbara's matchup against the highest remaining seed coming 30 minutes following the first quarterfinal. If Hawai'i wins, they will face No. 2 Cal Poly on Friday, March 15 at approximately 2:30 p.m. (PT).
 
The Rainbow Wahine ended the season on a roll, winning six of their last seven games—including the last three straight at home to finish with their best conference record since Vince Goo's squad finished 14-4 in the 2001-02 Western Athletic Conference season. Hawai'i was able to defeat all the Big West teams at least once--UH split with Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, Pacific, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Hawai'i swept UC Riverside, Long Beach State, UC Davis and CSU Northridge. It is the first winning season for the Rainbow Wahine since the 'Bows went 15-14 in 2006-07 under then head coach Jim Bolla.
 
Four Rainbow Wahine earned six Big West honors heading into this week's tournament. Junior forward Kamilah Martin was named to the All-Big West Conference first team while Ashleigh Karaitiana and Shawna-Lei Kuehu both earned Honorable Mention honors. Karaitiana also made the All-Freshman Team. Kuehu was named the league's Best Sixth Woman of the Year, while junior Sydney Haydel was voted Best Defensive Player of  the Year in the conference.
 
Martin led Hawai'i for the third straight season in points and rebounds. In conference action, she averaged 15.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She finished UH's first season back in the Big West ranked No. 3 in conference games in both scoring  and rebounds. She recorded eight double-doubles in league action and scored in double figures in 16-of-18 games—including the last eight straight. She also grabbed double-figures in rebounds in 10 BWC outings. In overall games, Martin was consistent all season, with 15.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. She had a career-high 29 steals and she raised her free-throw percentage from .698 last season to .738 this season and made a career high 149 shots from the charity stripe. Martin was a second-team All-WAC player last year as a sophomore and she earned All-Freshman honors in the 2010-11 season. She is the first UH player to earn first-team conference honors since Tanya Smith was named to the All-WAC first team in 2006-07. Martin is the first UH player to earn All-Big West first team honors since Tanya Brunton in 1995-96 in Hawai'i's first go-around in the league.

 It is UH's first Big West tournament since 1995-96 when they won the program's first-ever conference tournament and avanced to its fourth NCAA tournament under Goo. That season the 'Bows produced the biggest turnaround in NCAA history with a 17-win improvement. Hawai`i was a member of the WAC for the past 16 years before rejoining the Big West for the 2012-13 season.

 
Game 30 Tipoff Notes
What: 2013 Big West Tournament
Who: #3 Hawai'i (17-12, 13-5 Big West) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
Where: Bren Events Center (UC Irvine Campus)
Television:  OCSports will carry the game live statewide on Ch. 16 with Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play) and Lori Santi (color analyst) calling the game.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on ocsports.tv or BigWest.tv.
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live with Bobby Curran (play-by-play) and Jeff Portnoy (color). 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 on espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Coaches: Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Laura Beeman is in her first season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program. She has 16-12 overall record and an 12-5 mark in conference. Prior UH, Beeman made her mark at the junior college level where she enjoyed a phenomenally successful 15-year run as the head coach at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC). There she led the Mounties to 10 conference championships and four California Community College State Championships—including a string of three straight from 2006-08. Beeman posted a 390-110 (.780) record during her tenure at Mt. SAC. Her combined JC and DI record is now 407-122.