Game Notes

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (15-12, 11-5 Big West) hosts its final two games of the season this week against UC Riverside on Thursday, March 7 and Senior Night on Saturday, March 9 with both games starting at 7:00 p.m. Mathematically, the Rainbow Wahine are still in the hunt for the Big West title and are assured at the lowest a No. 4 seed in next week's Big West Tournament.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are in third place, a game-and-a-half behind Pacific who is at 13-4 and a game behind Cal Poly with a 12-4 record. UC Riverside is 4-12 in conference action as is fighting for a spot in the BWC Tournament. Right above the Highlanders are UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton who are both at 5-11. UCR is looking to snap its six-game losing streak. Last week they fell to Cal Poly (59-94) and UC Santa Barbara (42-62) at home.
 
Hawai'i protected their home court last week with a solid defensive effort against Cal State Northridge on Saturday night, winning their fourth out of their last five games. The 'Bows overcame a sluggish start but got things rolling as the defense stymied the Matadors while UH's offense got rolling. Hawai'i held the Matadors scoreless for a nearly 10-minute stretch while scoring 13 unanswered points to take the lead. UH extended that run to 22-to-2, which spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second halves en route to the win.
 
A total of four UH players finished with double-digits in points, led by junior forward Kamilah Martin with 15 points. Fellow junior Sydney Haydel came through both on offense and defense for the 'Bows, pouring in a season-high 13 points with a season-high four steals to go with four rebounds. Ashley Karaitiana and Shawna-Lei Kuehu each chipped in 12 points. Kuehu also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out six assists and posted her second double-double of the season.
 
Overall and in conference play, Martin remains atop UH's stats in both points and rebounds. She is averaging 15.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game overall and has set a new career-high with 27 steals. Martin has worked hard to raise both her field-goal percentage and her free throw percentage this year. From the floor, she is shooting a career-best .494 (134-for-271) and at the charity stripe, she has raised her game to shooting .746 (138-for-185). Earlier this year, she became just the 17th Rainbow Wahine to score 1,000 points and the sixth to do so in just three years. With her 15 points against Cal State Northridge this past Saturday, she passed Ayesha Brooks for 11th place all-time in UH scoring history with 1,135 total points. Brooks, who played for UH from 1987-90, finished her career with 1,131 points.
 
Kuehu—who missed several early games after suffering a concussion in UH's opener— has come on strong since her return. The junior reserve has come off the bench all season and has made her impact known in the Big West. In conference games, she is second on the team, averaging just under 10 points a game at 9.9. She leads UH with 12 blocked shots and is second on the team with 22 steals and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Saturday's game against Cal State Fullerton will be Senior Night for four Rainbow Wahine. Monica DeAngelis, Stephanie Ricketts, Kanisha Bello and Vicky Tagalicod will all be honored after the game. DeAngelis is a senior point guard transfer from Loyola Marymount who had one year of eligibility left after receiving a medical redshirt as a freshman with the Lions. She graduated from LMU last year and is currently in graduate school here at UH earning her master's in educational administration. Ricketts walked on to the basketball team after a storied softball career in which she became UH's most decorated pitchers in school history. The two-time All-American was also a three-time Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, four-time All-WAC selection, and she helped lead UH to a pair of WAC titles and to the program's first ever appearance in the Women's College World Series. Ricketts has come on strong as a solid post presence for the 'Bows playing valuable minutes in UH's last two games at Cal Poly and against CSUN. Bello and Tagalicod both transfered after brief careers at Idaho and USC respectively. Bello has played in 39 career games in which she averaged 5.7 points. Tagalicod has been a utility player for UH this season and in her career has appeared in 46 games with a 7.6 average in points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Bello and Tagalicod--who are both local products from the Big Island--will be graduating this year.
 
Game 28 Tipoff Notes
Who: Hawai'i (15-12, 11-5 Big West) vs. UC Riverside (11-16, 4-12 Big West)
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) – Honolulu, O'ahu
Television: Live statewide on OCSports – Channels 16 (SD) and 1016 (HD) with Jim Leahey (play-by-play) and Lori Santi (color) on the call.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available on ocsports.tv
Radio: ESPN 1500 am will carry the game live with Dave Kawada (play-by-play) and Tiff Wells (color). Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona and KTOH on Kaua'i.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats 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. UH has a 2-for-1 ticket special going on for this game in which fans receive a free ticket (of equal or lesser value) with each ticket purchased to the Rainbow Wahine's games against UC Riverside (Mar. 7) and CSU Fullerton (Mar.9). Tickets need to be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center Box Office
Promotions: Bud Light is the sponsor on Thursday and will distribute 500 bead key chains at the arena entrance and award great prizes throughout the contest. There will be an autograph session following the game near Gate B. Chevron is the sponsor of Saturday's "Senior Night" game and will distribute 200 rally towels at Gate A and award $250 in gas cards at halftime. Also, register at the sports marketing table inside Gate A to win one of the four “Lucky Seat” drawings, with the prize being a $25 Chevron gas card. The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union will distribute 500 women's basketball team photos and award plaques to the seniors during a special post-game presentation.
Series Record: Hawai'i won their first meeting at UC Riverside on their first BWC roadtrip of the year. UH downed UCR65-50 on Jan. 5. Hawai'i is now 2-0 all-time against the Highlanders, winning their only other meeting back in 2009 with a 63-58 victory in Riverside.
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Laura Beeman is in her first season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program. She has 15-12 overall record and an 11-5 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 405-122. UC Riverside's 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 138-136 record.