Honolulu— The 2019-2020 women's basketball season will begin with the University of Hawai'i hosting San Diego State on Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center at 7:00 p.m. HT.
 
Game 1:
TEAMS: Hawai'i, San Diego State
WHEN:  Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, 7:00 p.m. HT
WHERE:  Stan Sheriff Center
TELEVISION: Spectrum Sports
VIDEO STREAMING: Bigwest.tv
RADIO: ESPN Honolulu 1420 AM
LIVE STATS: www.hawaiiathletics.com
TICKETS: $9 (Free Youth Night)
Promotions: There will be an autograph session with the Rainbow Wahine basketball team following the game at Gate B. Great prizes will be awarded during the promotional contest at halftime. Sign up for your chance to win at the sports marketing table at Gate A. Free Youth Night
 
Game Notes-
 
• Head coach Laura Beeman returns to the sidelines for her eighth season as the leader of the Rainbow Wahine program. At the helm of UH, Beeman's career record sits at 117-111 overall and 66-32 in the Big West Conference.
  
 • UH returns eight student-athletes from last season and welcome in five newcomers.
  
 •Two of the returnees were All-Conference honoree selection in 2018-19 with senior guard Courtney Middap and sophomore forward Myrrah Joseph. Middap was a honorable mention and Joseph was also selected to the All-Conference Freshmen Team.
  
 • Middap returns as the team's leading scorer from last season, averaging 8.2 points per game. In 24 games last season, she tallied double-digit points in 11 games.
  
 • Joseph was a late bloomer as a freshman contributor but showed what she could do in the second half of the season against conference opponents. Against the Big West, she averaged over 15 minutes, 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds per game. 
 
• The start of the 2018-19 didn't go as planned for UH, and San Diego State played a role in it. The 'Bows started 0-5 with each game being decided by single digits, including a 58-57 loss on the road to SDSU in the second game of the season Nov. 9. The first UH win didn't come till game No. 6 against Seattle on Nov. 18. 
 
• In last season's loss at SDSU Junior forward Makenna Woodfolk led the 'Bows in scoring for the second straight game as she accounted for 16 points, hitting 5-of-11 from the floor. The game ended with junior guard Courtney Middap rolling off a screen from the top of the key with eight seconds remaining on the clock. Her layup attempt hit off the backboard and the front of the rim, bouncing out, followed by SDSU pulling down the defensive rebound with one second left and the 58-57 final. 
 
Freshmen influence
The 'Bows feature four true freshmen on the roster in Nae Nae Calhoun, Makayla Edwards, Kasey Neubert, and Olvia Davies. Calhoun and Edwards hail from California while Neubert resides in Colorado, and Davies is a resident of Alaska. All four could have an impact on this year's squad, beginning with Calhoun as the projected starting point guard. 
 
A FUN RUN IN 2018-2019
Even though a 15-17 record doesn't look eye-popping, the end of the 2018-19 campaign was a memorable one for UH fans. Sitting at No.5 in the conference standings on Mar. 2, UH ran off three consecutive wins against Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, and CSUN to jump up to No. 2 in the Big West. Resulting in a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. UH rode the momentum with a semifinal win over UC Riverside, and an eventual loss to UC Davis in the championship game, 58-50. As a result, the 'Bows punched their ticket to their fourth WNIT appearance under head coach Laura Beeman in seven years.  
 
MIDDLE OF THE PACK IN THE BIG WEST
As announced by the Big West in mid-October, UH was picked to finish No. 4 in the preseason polls by both the coaches and the media even after finishing at No. 2 a year ago. UH only received one first-place vote, and it came in the media poll. UC Davis was picked at No. 1 in the media poll with UC Irvine taking No. 1 in the coaches' selection. 
 
 HALL OF FAME RESUME 
In March of 2019, head coach Laura Beeman was inducted into the CCCWBCA Hall of Fame for her 15 years of service as the head coach of Mt. San Antonio from 1994-2010. Beeman accumulated a win-loss record of 390-110 at the junior college level while capturing 10 conference titles and four California state championships. 
 
100 IN 2018, 500 IN 2019, AND PURSUING HISTORY
In 2018 Beeman notched her 100th career win at the University of Hawai'i, and in 2019 she celebrated her 500th career win as a head coach totaling her time at Mt. San Antonio and UH. Her overall career wins total sits at 507, while her total wins at UH is currently 117. Beeman is No. 2 at UH is wins, trailing the legendary Vince Goo with 334 wins. 
 
CONFERENCE HONOREES ON THE ROSTER
Junior guard Courtney Middap were named honorable mentions, while freshman forward Myrrah Joseph was named to the All-Freshman squad at the end of 2018-19 season. Neither were selected to the All-Conference Preseason squad for the 2019-2020 season. 
 
A MEMORABLE SENIOR CLASS
UH graduated four seniors from the 2018-19 team; this season, there are three scheduled to graduate. Courtney Middap, Julissa Tago, and Savannah Reier. Both Middap and Tago have spent their entire collegiate careers at UH, while Reier was a JUCO transfer from Shelton State Community College.
 
THE JUCO INFLUENCE
Two players on the roster came to UH from the JUCO ranks, formerly mentioned Reier and newcomer Barbara Rangel. Rangel is a Moorpark College product. She played in the same conference where Beeman began her head coaching career at Mt. San Antonio from 1994-2010 in the California Community College Athletic Association. 
 
LONG WAY FROM HOME
Redshirt junior Amy Atwell hails from South Perth, Tasmania, Australia, a total distance of 6,775 miles away from Honolulu, giving her the honor as the player on the roster with the longest distance from home. As for U.S. residents, senior guard Savannah Reier takes the honor as she is 4,315 miles away from her home of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.