HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team has answered one of its first questions towards defending its Big West regular-season crown with the announcement of the conference schedule on Wednesday.

A 20-game slate with a twist will put the Rainbow Wahine to the test as head coach Laura Beeman enters her 11^th season at the program's helm. Each Big West team is scheduled to play the usual Thursday and Saturday matchups, but each team will add at least one Monday game. UH is the only team to have two Monday games this upcoming season, but while each team will also have a Wednesday game, the 'Bows will have none.

UH will begin conference play on Dec. 29 at UC Davis, followed by a stop at Cal Poly on New Year's Eve. Later on Jan. 14 and Feb. 18 the 'Bows will match up against rival Long Beach State, with the first of the two on the road. On Jan. 19, UH will host UC Irvine at SimpliFi Arena in their first rematch since the conference tournament championship game. The return game against UC Davis is set to tip on Feb. 2, and the season will conclude for the second consecutive season against UC Santa Barbara at home on Mar. 4. The conference tournament is set to take place shortly after spanning from Mar. 7 -11, at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. 

Sophomore guards Daejah Phillips and Olivia Davies return as the 'Bows' top scoring threats with the departure of Conference Player of the Year Amy Atwell due to graduation.  Beeman and staff have been hard at work in the offseason to reload the roster for a run at back-to-back titles adding transfer forward Meg Jefferson of Virginia, a graduate student with two years of eligibility, and sophomore guard Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year from Cal State Fullerton to the roster. Along with three true first-year students in Jovi Lefotu, Avery Watkins, and Imani Perez.  

The non-conference portion of the schedule and promotions will be announced at a later date.