Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (13-10, 7-4 Big West) heads on its sixth roadtrip of the season when it plays a pair of pivotal conference games at UC Irvine (Thursday, Feb. 20) and UC Davis (Saturday, Feb. 22) in California.
 
Hawai'i won both of its home games over UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton this past week and currently sits alone in third place with a 7-4 Big West record in an extremely tight conference race. Cal State Northridge is in first at 9-3 and Cal Poly, who fell twice last week at home, comes into the week at 8-3. Meanwhile, right behind the Rainbow Wahine is Long Beach State with a 6-5 conference mark with three teams tied for fifth at 5-5—including UC Irvine, UC Davis, and Cal State Fullerton.
 
This past week, the Rainbow Wahine pulled away from UC Riverside, 67-54 and then came together for a team win over Cal State Fullerton, 65-52 without senior forward Kamilah Jackson who sat out due to an injury. The team galvanized their forces to overwhelm the Titans leading by as much as 20 points while UH's defense stymied CSF's offense to just 28.6% in field goals and 0-for-14 shooting from 3-point-land.
 
UC Irvine (12-12, 7-7 Big West) has won three of its last five games to even both its overall and conference record. The Anteaters will be looking for revenge after Hawai'i overwhelmed the Anteaters, 85-59 on Jan. 25 earlier this season. In the win, five Rainbow Wahine (Shawna-Lei Kuehu, Kamilah Jackson, Destiny King, Ashleigh Karaitiana and Pua Kailiawa) all scored in double-figures marking the first time the team has accomplished that feat since the 2011-12 season. The 26-point margin of victory was the largest since the 2010-11 season when UH defeated North Carolina Central, 82-47 on Nov. 26, 2010.
 
Game 24 Tipoff Notes
Who: Hawai'i (13-10, 7-4 Big West) at UC Irvine (12-12, 7-7 Big West)
When: Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Bren Events (5,000)
Audio Webcast: www.ucirvinesports.com
Video Webcast: www.BigWest.tv
Live Stats: Live in game stats will be available at www.ucirvinesports.com
Series history: UH leads UCI, 23-8 in the series history. UH defeated the Anteaters earlier this season on Jan. 25 in Honolulu, 85-59. Last season, in UH's first back in the Big West, UCI and UH split their seasonal series, with each team winning on their home court.
Head Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Laura Beeman is in her second season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program. She has a 30-24 record at UH. Prior to coming to Hawai'i, Beeman was a highly successful head coach at Mt. San Antonio junior college in Walnut, Calif. There, Beeman led the Mounties to a 390-110 record and four state championships and 10 conference titles. UC Irvine's head coach Doug Oliver is also in his second season, with a 21-33 career record.