HONOLULU — Tied atop the Big West standings, the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team will open a pivotal homestand by taking on another conference contender in Cal Poly on Thursday, Feb. 15 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Rainbow Wahine enter the week tied with UC Irvine for first place in the Big West race with Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis one game behind the leaders. The matchup with the Mustangs marks the start of UH's festive penultimate homestand, which concludes Saturday with "Beeman's Big Bash" against UC Santa Barbara.
| GAME 23: CAL POLY MUSTANGS (13-9, 9-4 BIG WEST) VS. HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (13-9, 10-3 BIG WEST) |
| Date | Time |
Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location |
Honolulu, O'ahu — SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center |
| Television |
Spectrum Sports - Ch. 12 [SD] and 1012 [HD] |
| Live Stream |
ESPN+ (Blacked out in Hawai'i) |
| Radio |
CBS 1500-AM |
| Live Stats |
HawaiiAthletics.com |
| Game Notes |
Hawaii | Cal Poly |
| Tickets |
ETicketHawaii.com |
| Promotions |
- Thursday is Breast Cancer Awareness Night and fans are encouraged to join the team in solidarity by wearing pink to the game.
- Players and staff will be wearing various pink items — including socks, shoes, sweatbands, headbands, shooting sleeves, and warmup shirts — to bring awareness to breast cancer research.
- Pink 'Ohana Fight Together shirts will be distributed to the first 200 students in attendance.
- Hawai'i Pacific Health will serve as the game sponsor of the game and will hand out 200 pink sanitizer sprays, along with 200 pink scrunchies inside of Gate A. HPH will also be the sponsor of the halftime game and award prizes to three participants.
- Teagan Staskawicz, a Ph.D. student in Theatre with her master's degree in Vocal Performance from the UH Music Department, will perform the national anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i.
|
HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 193-157 (12th season)
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDHawaii leads 16-11
Last meeting — Hawai'i 63, Cal Poly 59 (Jan. 27, 2024, San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
TIPOFF
• UH and Cal Poly meet for the second time this season. The Rainbow Wahine won the first meeting with the Mustangs 63-59 on Jan. 27 at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Imani Perez led UH with a career-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field.
• UH has won the last five meetings with Cal Poly and nine of the last 10. Cal Poly last defeated UH on Feb. 5, 2021 in San Luis Obispo.
• UH is 7-4 at home against Cal Poly and has won the last three matchups with the Mustangs in Mānoa.
• UH is coming off a split of last week's road trip with a win at UC San Diego and a loss to UC Davis.
• UH guard Lily Wahinekapu has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games and leads UH with 10.8 points per game overall and 12.4 in Big West play.
• Guard Daejah Phillips averages 9.8 points per game overall and 10.7 in Big West games and enters the week with 983 points in her UH career.
• Perez also averages 9.8 ppg and is shooting 58.4% from the field.
• UH entered the week first in the Big West and 29th nationally in field-goal percentage defense in holding opponents to 36.8% shooting. UH also leads the conference and ranks fifth in NCAA Division I in 3-point field-goal defense at 25.2%.
• Cal Poly forward Natalia Ackerman is second on the team with 12.6 points per game and leads the Mustangs with 8.3 rebounds per game. She was named the Big West Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 21 points and 11.5 rebounds in two Cal Poly wins last week.
• The Mustangs will be led by assistant coach Samba Johnson, a graduate of Chaminade University in Honolulu.
'BEEMAN'S BIG BASH' SET FOR SATURDAY
The Rainbow Wahine will take aim at the largest attendance figure of head coach
Laura Beeman's 12-year tenure when they host
"Beeman's Big Bash" on Feb. 17 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The 2014-15 Rainbow Wahine played their home finale before a Senior Night crowd of 4,340 on March 7, 2015 in Beeman's third year leading the program. This season's Rainbow Wahine squad will look to surpass that mark when they face UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in a rematch of the 2023 Big West Championship game. The program's all-time record is 6,192. Gates open at 5:45 p.m.
• With the help of Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke and her office, UH will host the 25th annual State Employees' Food Drive with the Hawai'i Food Bank. Fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items to drop off.
• Raising Canes will be the game sponsor and will hand out 200 keychain lanyards inside Gate A. Before the game, Raising Canes will host the Fans in Da Stands, where several lucky fans will be lined up in the players' tunnel to greet them.
• UH head coach
Laura Beeman will foot the bill for 500 students to receive a free hot dog and soda/water as they enter through Gate B. Students will also be recognized throughout the game with several T-shirt tosses, and their rewards points will be doubled on the H Rewards app to win season prizes.
• DJ Wizzard will entertain fans throughout the evening as he'll provide music and fun for the entire arena as soon as gates open.
#HawaiiWBB
