HONOLULU-- The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team returns to SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to host Big West-leading UC Irvine on Thursday, followed by UC Riverside on Saturday.

GM 16 & 17 | HAWAI'I (6-9, 4-2) VS. UC IRVINE (14-3, 6-0) | HAWAI'I (6-9, 4-2) VS. UC RIVERSIDE (4-13, 2-5)
Date | Time				Thursday, January 19, 2023, 7:00 p.m. HT | Saturday, January 21st, 2023. 7:00 p.m. HT
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu- SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Television				Spectrum Sports
Live Stream				ESPN+ (Thursday) | ESPN+ (Saturday)
Radio				CBS 1500 (Thursday) | ESPN Honolulu (Saturday)
Tickets				Thursday | Saturday
Live Stats				Thursday | Saturday
Game Notes				Hawai'i | UC Irvine | UC Riverside
Social Media				@HawaiiWBB | #HawaiiWBB | @hawaiiwbb | Facebook
Promotions				Hawaiian Airlines is the sponsor on Thursday and will distribute free women's basketball roster cards and Hawaiian Airlines calendar posters prior to the game at Gate A, and award 30k HawaiianMiles during halftime. Raising Cane's is the sponsor of Saturday's "Chinese New Years Celebration" and will distribute 500 Koozies prior to the game at Gate A, and award great prizes throughout the night. Fans are encouraged to wear red, symbolizing the color of joy, blessing of happiness, and good fortune in celebration of the Chinese New Year. The Majestic Culture and the Arts Association invite fans for picture taking with the Lion Dance group from 6pm-7pm located on the concourse level (Ewa Side) of the Stan Sheriff Center and they will perform a traditional Lion Dance at halftime. There will be an autograph session with the women's basketball team following the game at Gate B. Free Wahine Basketball team photos (500) will be distributed prior to the game at Gate A.

NEWS & NOTES

• The Rainbow Wahine split their most recent road trip by dropping a game at Long Beach State on Saturday 62-48, followed by a convincing win at CSUN 76-60 on Monday. UH currently sits in a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings at 4-2 with UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, and UC San Diego.
• Monday's matchup at CSUN showcased how dangerous an offensive UH has, tallying season highs in points (76), shooting percentage (57%), and three-point shooting percentage (57%).
• UH remains a strong team on the road, with a 4-3 record away from O'ahu, while holding a 2-6 record at home.
• In 2022-23 UH is shooting .296 from three-point territory, recording five games of 10 or more made threes with a 2-3 record. Compared to the 2021-22 season, UH shot .328 from long range and recorded six games of 10 or more made three-pointers, winning five of those six games.
• UH has used eight different starting lineups over 15 games this season. The lineup of Kelsi Imai, Lily Wahinekapu, Meilani McBee, Jacque David, and Kallin Spiller is 2-0. Only Wahinekapu and Spiller have started every game this season.

THE QUEEN OF SOUL
The visit to Long Beach State and CSUN featured one player in particular as a scoring threat many didn't expect to see, as graduate guard McKenna Haire recorded back-to-back games of career highs. Haire hit 10-of-18 from three over the two games, recording 15 and 18 points, outdoing her previous high of 11 points against Portland in 2021. In her three years at Princeton, she never played more than 20 minutes in a game or scored double-digit points. But now in Hawai'i and healthy, she's starting to show what she can on the hardwood when given a chance, resulting in some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
 
ALGEBRA, GEOMETRY, CALCULUS, STATISTICS
Daejah Phillips has played 59 games over her first three seasons while starting in 28 of those games. Regardless if she's starting or coming off the bench, she's productive. In 28 starts, she's averaging 10.7 points per game and 9.5 points when coming off the bench. As a team, though, it goes a little deeper, overall when Phillips comes off the bench, UH is 19-12, compared to when she starts at 13-15. In 2022-23 the 'Bows are 2-0 when she comes off the pine.
 
DISTRIBUTION RATE
A center point of the offensive philosophy for UH is ball movement and disruption. The 'Bows are 4-1 this season when recording 15 or more assists. Plus, when an individual player dishes out five or more assists, they're 3-1. Leading the way in assists this season is Phillips with 43, while Wahinekapu sits at 39. On two separate occasions, Phillips and Wahinekapu have accounted for five or more assists each, leading to UH being 2-0 in those games.
 
GAME OVER
There's a long-standing history with UC Irvine and UC Riverside when facing off with UH. The 'Bows hold an all-time 35-13 advantage against the Anteaters and 12-6 against the Highlanders. Both may have an idea of revenge on their minds, though, as UH was the one who bounced both from the Big West tournament last season, including UC Irvine in the championship game with a ticket to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
 
OLYMPIC HOPEFUL IN 2024
Even though she has graduated and no longer terrorizes Big West opponents, former Player of the Year Amy Atwell keeps adding to her legacy. Seven Consulting Opals, essentially the Australia National Team, announced their 2023 squad featuring Atwell, who will have a chance to play in the 2023 Asia Cup and potentially the 2024 Paris Olympics. Camp for the 2023 Asia Cup will begin in March, and Atwell will have a chance at making the travel squad for the international games. She currently plays professionally in Australia for the Perth Lynx, averaging 12.6 points per game in her rookie season.