Game Notes
2014 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament Central
2014 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
 
LONG BEACH, Calif.—The No. 3-seeded University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (16-12, 10-6 Big West) has a first-round bye before taking on the lowest remaining seed in this week's 2014 Big West Conference Tournament which runs from March 11-12 and 14-15. The tournament's first two days will be hosted by Long Beach State at the Walter Pyramid. The semi-finals and championship game will be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
 
The Rainbow Wahine split their games last week, defeating UC Santa Barbara at home on Senior Night but falling on the road at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. Against the Gauchos at home, senior Diane Moore poured in a career-high 17 points as did Ashleigh Karaitiana to help lead UH to a 73-60 win. Morgan Mason tied her career-high with 16 points and Destiny King added 12. Then Hawai'i had a quick turnaround and headed to Cal State Fullerton to battle the Titans in the regular season finale. UH fell to CSF, 61-42, scoring their lowest point total this season.
 
The 'Bows looking to bounce back this week as they vie for the conference championship and a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Hawai'i is hopeful that they will be close to full strength if Big West second team selection Kamilah Jackson can return to the court after missing the past six games with an injury. Hawai'i has gone 4-2 without their star forward. Jackson has averaged a team-high 15.5 points and 9.7 rebounds this season and is just the second Rainbow Wahine to accomplish that feat since Judy Mosley (1987-90). Jackson became just the fifth player in UH history to earn conference honors all four years. She has recorded 12 double-doubles this season with 55 in her stellar career.
 
Fellow all-Big West second team member Shawna-Lei Kuehu is second on the team averaging 10.6 points per game and leads UH with 23 blocked shots and 28 steals. Kuehu is also second on the team with 50 assists and fourth in rebounds with 4.1 a game. She has started 26 out of 28 games this season averaging 23.7 minutes per game. In conference games, she has upped her production, averaging 11.4 points a game. Kuehu has scored in double-digits in 14 games this season—including a career-high 28 points in an 82-71 home win over Long Beach State (Feb. 27).
 
The Big West's Sixth Player of the Year, Ashleigh Karaitiana is third on the team averaging 10.1 points per game. She has started just nine game (including one BWC game) in 28 appearances. Karaitiana leads Hawai'i with 32 3-pointers made in 87  attempts and is third on the team with 5.1 rebounds an outing.

Hawai'is defense has been the core of the team's success over the past two seasons under head coach Laura Beeman. The 'Bows lead the Big West in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score just 63.1 points a game and in rebounding defense with opposing teams averaging just 34.1 boards per game. As a team, UH also has the best rebounding margin in the conference with Hawai'i aveaging 40.9 while holding their foes to 34.1 rebounds for a +6.8 margin. Hawai'i has held their last 10 opponents below their season rebounding average and UH has held 18-of-28 opposing teams below their season scoring average--including 12 of their BWC games.

 
2014 Big West Tournament Schedule
Schedule
Tuesday, March 11 - First Round (at Walter Pyramid) 
Game 1: No. 5 UC Davis vs. No. 8 UC Santa Barbara - 6:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Long Beach State vs. No. 7 Cal State Fullerton - 30 minutes after game 1

Wednesday, March 12 - Quarterfinals (at Walter Pyramid)
Game 3: No. 3 Hawai'i vs. lowest remaining seed - 6:00 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 UC Irvine vs. highest remaining seed - 30 minutes after game 3

Friday, March 14 - Semifinals (at Honda Center)
Game 5: No. 1 Cal State Northridge vs. lowest remaining seed - Noon
Game 6: No. 2 Cal Poly vs. highest remaining seed - 30 minutes after game 5

Saturday, March 15 - Final (at Honda Center)
Game 7: Championship game - 1:00 p.m.
 
2014 Big West Tournament Information
When: March 11-12 and 14-15, 2014
Where: First round and quarterfinals will be held at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The semifinals and finals will be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Who: No. 3 seed Hawai'i has an opening round bye. The 'Bows will start their tournament on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. vs. the lowest seed remaining after the first round.
Streaming video: Every game of the tourney except for the championship game will be aired on ESPN3. The championship game will be broadcast on FOX Prime Ticket.
Radio: ESPN 1420 am will be airing the Rainbow Wahine games with Bobby Curran handling the play-by-play.
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available through the Big West Conference at statbroadcast.com.
Tickets: To purchase tournament tickets, CLICK HERE