The 'Bows return seven letterwinners—led by all-Big West second team player Shawna-Lei Kuehu (10.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 55 assist, 32 steals) and the conference's "Sixth Woman of the Year," Ashleigh Karaitiana (10.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 39 3-pt FG made). Also returning are senior point guard Morgan Mason (6.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 36 assists) and the versatile Destiny King (8.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 72 assists).

Hawai'i welcomes in eight newcomers plus a medical redshirt and Shawlina Segovia (Riverside, Calif./Mt. San Antonio JC) who had to sit out last year. Center Angelina Smith returns after playing seven games to start last season before a season-ending injury curtailed her true freshman year. This year's  rookies include five freshmen and three transfers. Breana Jones (Westport, New Zealand/Maryknoll School), Jasmine Redmon (Sacramento, Calif./Monterey Trail HS) , Dalayna Sampton (Vallejo, Calif./Florin HS), Justice Toailoa (Hayward, Calif./Salesian HS) and Sarah Toeaina (Covington, Wash./Kentwood HS) comprise the strong freshman class.  Amongst the three transfer student-athletes, Raja Moreno-Ross (Tucson, Ariz./Pima CC) and Connie Morris (Mesquite, Nev./Salt Lake CC) are both eligible to play this season. Brianna Kennedy (La Verne, Calif./Loyola Marymount) will need to sit out the 2014-15 season after transferring from Loyola Marymount. All three players will have two seasons to play at Hawai'i.

A little over two weeks ago, Hawai'i overwhelmed its sister school, UH-Hilo, 90-53 in an exhibition game at the Stan Sheriff Center. All 13 players who were suited up played and scored. Mason led all scorers with 15 points awhile Kuehu and Jones both added 10 points apiece. 

Mason, along with Raja Moreno-Ross and Dalayna Sampton all had a game-high eight rebounds each. Mason filled the stat line with four assists and three steals with just one turnover. Kuehu was 4-for-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the free throw line. She also had four assists  and one steal in 22 minutes of action. Jones came off the bench and was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals—including two 3-pointers.

The Rainbow Wahine out-rebounded UH-Hilo, 48-to-25 and pummeled the Vulcans in the paint, outscoring their sister-school, 48-to-22. UH also outscored UHH in points off of turnovers (33-to-9); second chance points (18-to-3) and bench scoring (40-to-9). The 'Bows had 20 assists to 14 turnovers.

In the first half, the Rainbow Wahine jumped out to a quick 15-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The 'Bows never looked back. Mason led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. She also corralled four rebounds  and had one assist. Morris had seven points and a rebound with three assists. Hawai`i took a 45- 27 lead into halftime.

The second half started much like the first half, on a 13-to-0 run after the break. Kuehu was perfect from the floor, shooting 3-for-3 with one free-throw made to score seven of her 10 points in the second half.

Returning four starters from a Rams squad that posted a 25-8 record a season ago, CSU was selected to finish in first place in the 2014-15 Mountain West preseason poll. Last season the Rams captured the regular season Mountain West Conference title with a 15-3 record.  Colorado State is currently received one vote in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. It is the first time the Rams have received at least one vote in the AP poll since Jan. 13, 2003, and the first time in either of the major polls since December of that same year. 

The Rams are a seasoned team with much experience returning. Guards AJ Newton and Gritt Ryder return for their senior seasons. Newton averaged 11.4 points and 3.2 assists per game while Ryder was close behind, averaging 11.2 points per game. She also had 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Sophomore guard Ellen Nystrom returns after a solid rookie season in which she averaged 9.7 points per game, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

CSU knocked off Metro State in their only exhibtion game, 90-62. The Rams were led by sophomore guard, Ellen Nystrom--a preseason all MWC pick--who tallied a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds. 

Denver returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's squad which went 9-23 overall and 5-9 in conference action. The Pioneers were picked to finish in fifth place in the Summit League and are led by senior guard Morgan Van Riper-Rose whose career average is 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Paige Bradley added 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game as a sophomore guard a year ago. Senior forward, Teresa Wirth played in all 32 games and averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists last year. Head coach Kerry Cremeans is in her third season with a 23-40 record with the Pioneers.

Game 1
Who: Hawai'i (0-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. Colorado State (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
When: Friday, November 14, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Moby Arena (8,745)
Live Streaming Video: Live streaming video will be available at www.csurams.com/videos/
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available at www.CSUrams.com.
Coaches: Colorado State is led by third year head coach Ryun Williams who has a 36-27 record over his first two years in Fort Collins. His overall NCAA DI record is 294-180 in 16 seasons and he has a 54-38 junior college record over three seasons. The Rainbow Wahine are led by third year head coach Laura Beeman who has recorded a 34-28 record in her first two seasons. As the head coach at Mt. San Antonio, Coach Beeman tallied a 390-110 in the junior college ranks.
Series History: Hawai'i is 0-4 against Colorado State all time. Last season, the Rams held off the 'Bows in Honolulu, 65-60 in an overtime win to start the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Showdown tournament on Nov. 29, 2013.
*Hawai'i is 24-16 in season openers, but just 1-5 when opening the year on the road.

Game 2
Who: Hawai'i (0-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. Denver (0-0, 0-0 The Summitt League)
When: Sunday, November 16, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Magness Arena (7,200)
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available at www.DenverPioneers.com.
Live Streaming Video: Live streaming video will be available at www.denverpioneers.com
Coaches: Denver's head coach Kerry Cremeans is in her third season with a 23-40 record with the Pioneers. 
Series History: Hawai'i is 3-0 against Denver. The last meeting was on Dec. 19, 2011 when UH defeated the Pioneers, 78-64 on Dec. 19, 2011 in Honolulu.