HONOLULU — The Big West-leading University of Hawai'i women's basketball team closes out the home schedule with a key conference matchup against UC Riverside on Saturday, March 2 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UH (17-9, 14-3 Big West) enters the home finale alone in first place in the Big West standings, one game ahead of UC Irvine (13-4) with three games remaining in the regular season. UC Riverside and Cal Poly are tied for third at 11-6.
The Rainbow Wahine will honor guards
Olivia Davies and
Ashley Thoms in the senior ceremony following the game.
| GAME 27: UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS (16-11, 11-6 BIG WEST) VS. HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (17-9, 14-3 BIG WEST) |
| Date | Time |
Saturday, March 2, 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 | UC Riverside |
| Tickets |
ETicketHawaii.com • Keiki 18 and under FREE |
| Promotions |
• Saturday will mark a special night as it's "Show'UHM Your Aloha Senior Night." All fans are encouraged to wear their favorite aloha shirt to say aloha and mahalo to this year's senior class.
• Head coach Laura Beeman and the UH staff will honor seniors Ashley Thoms and Olivia Davies after the game.
• The University of Hawai'i Federal Credit Union will sponsor the night, awarding prizes for fans at halftime, along with two lucky seat winners.
•The Rainbow Wahine will welcome Kamehameha Schools Children Chorus to perform the Nation Anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i.
|
HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 197-157 (12th season)
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDHawai'i leads 16-7
Last meeting — UC Riverside 66, Hawai'i 58, Jan. 13, 2024
TIPOFF
• The Rainbow Wahine opened their final homestand of the season with a 63-57 win over UC Davis on Thursday in their first overtime game of the season. Lily Wahinekapu led UH with 18 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• UH has clinched a top-four seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev. The 'Bows need one more win to secure one of the top two seeds and a double-bye, automatically advancing them to the semifinal round.
• UH's current four-game winning streak matches its longest of the season. The 'Bows have won eight of their last nine games.
• UC Riverside won the first meeting of the season, 66-58 at SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif., on Jan. 13, handing UH its first loss of the Big West schedule. The win was UCR's first over UH since 2019, ending the 'Bows eight-game winning streak in the series.
• Wahinekapu moved back into the team scoring lead with 11.2 points per game. Guard Daejah Phillips, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, is next at 10.9 ppg.
• The UH defense is holding opponents to a league-low 36.7% shooting from the field, including 26.2% on 3-point attempts.
• UC Riverside leads the Big West and ranks 20th in the nation with 20.59 turnovers forced per game. The Highlanders rank 11th nationally with a 6.07 turnover margin.
• UCR guard Jordan Webster enters the game as the Big West's scoring leader with 17.4 points per game overall and 18.0 in conference games. Webster scored a career-high 28 points with six 3-pointers in the Highlanders' win over UH.
ALOHA SENIORS
UH guards Olivia Davies and Ashley Thoms have filled leadership roles for the 'Bows and will be honored in the traditional Senior Night ceremony following the conclusion of Saturday's game.
• Thoms joined the program in 2021 as a transfer from Weber State. She earned UH's Best Defensive Player award the last two seasons primarily coming off the bench. She has established a starting role in the backcourt this season, appearing in all 26 games with 18 starts, including the last 12 in a row. She hit four 3-pointers in wins over Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State and set a career high with 18 points against the Beach on Jan. 18.
• Davies has a year of eligibility remaining but will close out her UH basketball career this season, her fifth in the program. She has overcome injuries throughout her career, starting with a season-ending knee injury in her first exhibition game as a freshman in 2019. She returned to earn 29 starts over the next two seasons, but was again sidelined last year after just six appearances. She worked her way back onto the court and has 18 starts this season. A steady presence in the backcourt, she scored a season-high 14 points at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25.
PROTECTING 'THE STAN'
• The Rainbow Wahine are 12-3 overall at home this season — including 9-0 in Big West play — and have won 10 in a row in Manoa entering the home finale. UH last went undefeated at home in conference play in the 2014-15 season, going 8-0.
• UH is 112-65 at home in head coach Laura Beeman's 12 seasons.
* UH drew the largest crowd of Beeman's tenure as head coach for "Beeman's Big Bash" on Feb. 17. The 5,068 tickets issued and 4,080 turnstile count for UH's 68-84 win over UC Santa Barbara were both highs in Beeman's UH career, passing the previous marks of 4,340 and 3,491 set on senior night in 2015. The program's overall attendance record for a stand-alone game stands at 6,192 (6,004 turnstile) set on Feb. 14, 1998.
• UH's home attendance average of 2,188 (tickets issued) this season is the highest in the Big West followed by Cal Poly at 1,061.
• The Rainbow Wahine are 310-189 in the arena since its opening in the 1994-95 season. UH picked up the program's 300th win in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center with a victory over Idaho State on Nov. 25.
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