Game Notes

HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (8-7, 0-2 BWC) returns home after going 0-2 on the road to start the Big West Conference season. The short-handed Rainbow Wahine were down two players in both games with leading scorer and rebounder Shawna-Lei Kuehu and recent starter Sarah Toeaina sidelined with injuries. In their stead, the 'Bows battled hard and kept things close, but came up short falling at Cal Poly (70-65) and at CSUN (53-46). Saturday's game is a "Blackout" and fans are asked to wear UH-branded black shirts, which can be purchased at H-Zone stores at Ward Center and the Stan Sheriff Center.

Overall, Kuehu leads the team averaging a career-high 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. She also leads UH with 19 blocked shots and is second with 35 assists and 20 steals. Fellow seniors Morgan Mason and Ashleigh Karaitiana are also averaging over 10 points a game. Mason is scoring 10.6 points with 4.4 boards an outing. She leads UH with 38 assists and is second on the team with eight made 3-point field goals. Karaitiana is just a skosh behind Mason averaging 10.5 points per game. She is third on the team with 5.8 rebounds and leads UH with 25 steals and 17 made treys.

Against Cal Poly, UH's Briana Harris came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points--all on 3-pointers--as she sank a career-high five treys. Destiny King added 11 points and seven rebounds while Morgan Mason chipped in with 10 points. Then at CSUN, in her first career start, freshman Megan Huff made an immediate impact in just her fourth UH basketball game. She scored a team-high 15 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Huff blocked five shots--three in the first four minutes of the game and had two steals as well. It was the first time a UH player has had five blocks since Breanna Arbuckle swatted five against Kent State on Dec. 29, 2009.

The Highlanders will come to Honolulu after playing a game against UC Davis on Thursday night. UC Riverside started the year on a roll, winning their first five games, but since then, UCR has posted a 5-6 record. Last week, they opened conference play with a 58-49 loss at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 8 and bounced back with a 71-58 win over UC Irvine at home.

Junior Brittany Crain leads the league averaging 23.3 points a game and leads UCR with 37-made 3-pointers, 39 steals and 14 blocked shots. Crain has double the amount of points (373) than her closest teammate. She is tied with a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game with Annelise Ita who is also averaging over double-figures in points with 11.8. Simone DeCoud has dished out a team-high 52 assists and is second on the team with 12.9 points per game.

Game 15
Who: Hawai'i (8-7, 0-0 Big West) at UC Riverside (10-6, 1-1 Big West)
When: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) - Honolulu, O'ahu
Tickets: 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.
Promotions: Pepsi is the game sponsor and will award an iPod Shuffle and Pepsi products for a year during the "Basketball Tic-Tac-Toe" activity at halftime. Fans can register to participate at the sports marketing table near Gate A. Saturday's game is a "Black Out" and fans are asked to wear UH-branded black shirts, which can be purchased at H-Zone stores at Ward Center and the Stan Sheriff Center. UH Kids' Club members will join the players on the court for the pre-game festivities.
Video: A live stream of the game will be available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Radio: UH's game against UC Riverside will be aired live on NBC SportsRadio AM 1500. Dave Kawada (play-by-play) and Tiff Wells (color analyst) will handle the broadcast duties.
Audio Webcast: An audio webcast of the game can be heard online at http://www.nbcsportsradiohawaii.com
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available at www.hawaiiathletics.com
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Laura Beeman is in her third season and has led UH to back-to-back WNIT appearances. She has a 42-35 record at Hawai'i after recording a 390-110 record at the junior college level with Mt. San Antonio. UC Riverside's John Margaritis is in his 11th season at UCR and has a 144-161 record. Overall in 16 years as a head coach, Margaritis has a 254-241 record.
Series History: Hawai'i is 5-0 against the Highlanders all-time. Last year, the 'Bows swept UCR by defeating them on the road, 74-61 on Jan. 18 and at home, 67-54 on Feb. 13.