HENDERSON, Nev. — The two-time defending conference champion University of Hawai'i women's basketball team begins its quest for a third consecutive title by taking on UC Davis in the semifinals of the Hercules Tires Big West Championship on Friday, March 15 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. The Rainbow Wahine and Aggies will play in the first semifinal at noon Pacific Time (9 a.m. Hawai'i Time).

The Rainbow Wahine entered the eight-team tournament as the No. 1 seed after claiming the Big West's regular-season championship for the second time in three years and earned a double-bye into the semifinals. UC Davis is the fifth seed in the bracket and advanced with wins over Cal State Fullerton in the first round on Wednesday and fourth-seeded Cal Poly in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

• UH locked up the top seed in the Big West Championship with a win at CSUN last week and clinched the outright regular-season title with an 85-48 win at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday.

• As one of the top two seeds, the Rainbow Wahine earned a double-bye into the semifinals. No. 2 seed UC Irvine also has a double bye.

• UH is 1-2 against UC Davis in the Big West Championship. The 'Bows defeated the Aggies in the 2016 final and UC Davis won a rematch in the 2019 title game. They last met in the tournament in the 2021 semifinals with UC Davis winning 64-52.

• UH and UC Davis have accounted for the last four Big West championships. UC Davis won in 2019 and '21 (the 2020 tournament was canceled) and UH won the last two in 2022 and '23.

• UH and UC Davis split their regular-season series with both teams winning at home. The Aggies won 61-51 in Davis, Calif., on Feb. 10. UH pulled out a 63-57 win on Feb. 29 at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in the 'Bows' lone overtime game of the season.

• The 'Bows have won a season-high seven consecutive games since the loss at UC Davis. They've won 11 of the last 12 games and their current streak is their longest since winning eight straight on their way to the 2022 Big West Championship.

• UH reached the 20-win mark for the 17^th time in program history and the fourth time under head coach Laura Beeman.

• UH is 22-18 all time in 23 appearances in the Big West Championship and is 6-0 since the event moved to the Dollar Loan Center in 2022.

• UH is seeking to become the first team to win three consecutive Big West titles since UC Santa Barbara won nine straight from 1997-2005.

• UH is the No. 1 seed for the fifth time overall and third time since rejoining the conference in 2012-13.

• The 'Bows have won the tournament once as the No. 1 seed (2022). UH won the tournament as the No. 2 seed in 1996 and 2016 and as the No. 3 seed in 2023.

• UH is 8-5 in the tournament's semifinal round.

Four members of the Rainbow Wahine program received postseason recognition as part of The Big West 2023-24 All-Conference Team announced on Tuesday.

•  Laura Beeman was voted Coach of the Year for the third time in her UH career and the second time in the last three seasons after leading the Rainbow Wahine to the Big West regular-season championship. Beeman picked up the 200th victory of her UH career in the regular-season finale at CSU Bakersfield.

•  Guard Daejah Phillips was named the conference's Best Sixth Player for the second time and represented the Rainbow Wahine on the All-Big West first team.

•  Guard Lily Wahinekapu made the All-Big West second team after closing the regular season as UH's leading scorer overall (11.6 points per game) and in Big West games (13.0 ppg). S

•  Forward Imani Perez earned a spot on the All-Big West second team and All-Defensive Team. The 6-foot-4 sophomore averaged 9.6 points while shooting a team-high 58.3 percent from the field overall. She also led the team with 29 blocked shots and her average of 1.2 per game ranked third in the conference.

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