Game Notes

LONG BEACH, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (19-7, 11-2 BWC) travels to battle Long Beach State (20-6, 7-5 BWC) with the Big West Conference regular season title on the line. With three games remaining, the Rainbow Wahine need just one win to claim at least a share of their first conference title since 1997-98 when UH won the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division with a 13-1 record. Prior to that, Hawai'i won back-to-back Big West titles after posting a 17-1 record in 1992-93 and a 16-2 mark in 1993-94.
 
Hawai'i surged to its 11th straight win with a thrilling 62-60 victory over UC Davis on Saturday night. It is the longest win streak under head coach Laura Beeman and the longest streak since UH won 19-straight during the 1997-98 season.  Hawai'i's 11-2 conference record is the best since that same 1997-98 season when, under head coach Vince Goo, the 'Bows finished 14-1 in the WAC. That was the last season that UH played in the NCAA tournament. The Rainbow Wahine's 19 overall wins is the most since the 'Bows recorded a 23-8 overall record in 2001-02. In Beeman's first two seasons, her squads posted a pair of 17-14 records advancing to back-to-back WNIT appearances.
 
Hawai'i's rollercoaster win over UC Davis featured nine ties an 11 lead changes. Senior Shawna-Lei Kuehu led the 'Bows with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. The senior also had two steals and one block in her second-to-last regular season game at the Stan Sheriff Center. Karaitiana finished with 11 points, including that a clutch three-ball in the closing minutes while Megan Huff added 11 points and three steals. The Rainbow Wahine also received valuable production from freshman Dalayna Sampton who finished with five points and a career-best seven rebounds in only 13 minutes of action. Sampton and Huff helped the Rainbow Wahine out-rebound the Aggies 46-to-31.
 
Long Beach State (20-6, 7-5 Big West)
Long Beach State enters the second to the last week of the season with a 7-5 conference mark. Last week, the short-handed 49ers fell at UC Davis, 83-66. LBSU played just seven players in the game and were without the services of their leading scorer Raven Benton, leading rebounder Devin Hudson and Jewlyn Sawyer.
 
Overall, The Beach is led by Benton who is averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Anna Kim is second on the team averaging a shade under 10 points with 9.8 per game. She leads LBUS with 41 steals and is third on the team with 67 assists. Lauren Spargo is averaging 9.2 points per game with a team-high 42 3-pointers made this season. Hallie Meneses leads the team with 110 assists.
 
Game 27
Who: Hawai'i (19-7, 11-2 Big West) vs. Long Beach State (20-6, 7-5)
When: Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015 at 7:00 pm
Where: Walter Pyramid
Live Video: The Hawai'i vs. Long Beach State game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com. Tim Becwar (play-by-play), Maylana Martin Douglas (analyst), and Courtney Sweet (sideline) will cover the game.  
Live Stats: A live video stream and live stats will be available at www.longbeachstate.com
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Laura Beeman is in her third season at UH with a 53-35 overall record and 34-14 record in conference games. Prior to UH, she recorded a 390-110 record at the junior college level with Mt. San Antonio. Long Beach State's Jody Wynn is in her sixth season with the 49ers. She has an 88-94 overall record.
Series History: The 49ers lead UH 16-13 in their series history. Hawai'i has won five of their last six meetings with LBSU. Earlier this season, Hawai'i handed the 49ers their first road loss of the season with a  72-64 win at the Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 29. Kuehu led the 'Bows with 15 points while Shawlina Segovia recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.  Last season, UH fell in overtive at the Walter Pyramid, 74-72 in overtime (Jan. 30, 2014). The 'Bows won their home game against LBSU 82-71 (Feb. 27, 2014) and then won again on the 49ers home court in the Big West tournament, 52-49 (Mar. 12, 2014).