HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team (9-14, 2-8 Big West) returns home to the Stan Sheriff Center for a single game this week, facing off with Cal State Fullerton (7-14, 2-6 Big West) on Thursday night in UH's annual "Pink Night" in support of breast cancer awareness. Tip-off is schedule for 7:00 p.m.
 
The Rainbow Wahine fell just short on a pair of voracious comebacks last week on the road at Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Hawai'i ended the CP game with an opportunity to win on a last-second shot, while the Rainbow Wahine mounted a 17-point fourth-quarter rally against the Gauchos. No surprise that the driving force behind that run at UCSB was senior guard Sarah Toeaina, who reeled off 21 points in the second half to help UH draw the deficit to six points. She's now scored in double-figures across the past eight games and has hit 20 points six times for a 15.4 PPG average. Toeaina has also moved into 16th in the UH record book with 1,065 career points.
 
Joining the starting lineup the past four games with a huge role as a defensive specialist, junior Rachel Odumu has been making her mark, producing a team-high six rebounds against UC Riverside and adding seven points at Cal Poly. Her scoring average has risen to 3.3 PPG after seeing a more limited role earlier in the season.
 
Meanwhile sophomore Julissa Tago has been strong in the sixth-man role, producing two 11-point games in the past four outings, also grabbing five rebounds at Cal Poly. She's upped her averages to 9.8 PPG and 2.7 RPG, serving as the team's top free throw shooter at 90.9 percent. At the point, junior Tia Kanoa is coming off a nine-assist performance at UC Santa Barbara, nearly reaching a double-double with 14 points against the Gauchos to complement her 6.6 PPG.
 
Since topping the Rainbow Wahine at the beginning of January, the Titans have garnered only one win, and are currently on a five-game slide, dropping the last three away from home. Not typically a long-range team, the Titans were successful beyond the arc in the first meeting (5-of-12), but shooting 24-of-28 at the line proved to be a notable factor. Hannah Thompson (13.1 PPG), Daeja Smith (11.9 PPG) and Jade Vega (11.0) pace the CSF scorers, combining for 44 points in the first meeting, with the help of Triann Thompson (7.8 PPG), who scored 14 in Fullerton. Smith is the power for CSF on the glass, racking up 9.2 RPG.
 
Thursday's meeting with the Titans will be the 38th all-time matchup, with UH holding a heavy lead at 21-16. The Titans snapped a seven-game UH win streak with the 69-57 win in January. UH has won the last six meetings at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
After facing the Titans, the Rainbow Wahine finally get some BYE time after 10 consecutive conference games. Their next contest scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 against CSUN at home.
 
Game 24
Who: Hawai'i (9-14, 2-8 Big West) vs. Cal State Fullerton (7-14, 2-6 Big West)
When: Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 (7:00 p.m.)
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (Honolulu, O'ahu)
TV: Spectrum Sports
Live Stream: BigWest.TV (Hawai'i residents: Must be a Spectrum cable subscriber to access)
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM
Audio Stream: ESPN1420AM.com
Live Stats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: Hawaii Pacific Health is the sponsor on Thursday and joins together with Hawai'i women's basketball in supporting breast cancer awareness for the annual "Pink Night" game. HPH will distribute 200 pink trucker hats to the first 200 fans wearing pink and award great prizes during their promotional activity at halftime. Fans can register to participate at the sports marketing table located at Gate A. The H-Zone store located at Gate B will be selling pink apparel, and fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.  The Wahine will conduct a brief post-game question and answer session.
 
 
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