SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The top two teams in the Big West standings meet on Thursday when the first-place University of Hawai'i women's basketball team takes on UC Santa Barbara at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Pacific Time / 5 p.m. Hawai'i Time.
UH enters Thursday's matchup a half-game ahead of UCSB in the conference race. The first leg of UH's Big West road trip will feature a rematch of last year's Big West Championship final in Henderson, Nev. The Rainbow Wahine rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to pull out a 61-59 win and capture a second straight Big West title.
| GAME 17: HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (9-7, 6-1 BIG WEST) AT UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (12-6, 6-2 BIG WEST) |
| Date | Time |
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024; 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Hawai'i Time |
| Location |
Santa Barbara, Calif. — The Thunderdome (capacity 5,000) |
| Television |
None |
| Live Stream |
ESPN+ |
| Radio |
None |
| Live Stats |
ucsbgauchos.com |
| Game Notes |
Hawai'i | UC Santa Barbara |
HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 189-155 (12th season)
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDHawai'i leads 34-20
Last meeting — Hawai'i, 61-59 (March 11, 2023; Henderson, Nev.)
TIPOFF
• UH leads the all-time series with UCSB 34-20 and is 13-12 in Santa Barbara.
• The 'Bows and Gauchos split their regular-season series last year, both winning on their home courts.
• UH is off to a 6-1 start in Big West play for the first time in head coach
Laura Beeman's tenure. It's program's best conference start since the 1999-2000 season, when the 'Bows opened 9-1 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
• UH swept last week's homestand with wins over Long Beach State and UC San Diego. Guard
Lily Wahinekapu led UH in scoring in both games with 19 points against LBSU and 16 against UCSD. She leads the team with 10.3 points per game overall and 12.7 in Big West play.
•Wahinekapu is four points away from reaching 1,000 for her career, including her freshman season at Cal State Fullerton.
• UCSB leads the Big West in scoring offense at 68.7 points per game overall and 65 ppg in Big West games.
• UH ranks second in the Big West in overall scoring defense at 55.75 ppg allowed and tops the conference at 50.29 in league play.
• Seven players have led the Rainbow Wahine in scoring in at least one game this season.
• UCSB is coming off a split last week with a home win over CSUN and a loss at Cal State Fullerton.
• Senior forward Alexis Whitfield leads UCSB and ranks third in the Big West with 15.06 points per game. She's also second in the conference with 8.67 rebounds per game and is shooting 50.5% from the field, also second in the Big West.
• Guard Alyssa Marin averages 11.6 points per game and is third in the Big West with 3.61 assists per game.
• The Rainbow Wahine conclude the road trip at Cal Poly on Saturday, Jan. 27 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT (noon HT).
#HawaiiWBB
