HONOLULU — Now part of a three-team tie atop the Big West standings, the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team takes a seven-game winning streak into a Southern California road trip featuring matchups with UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton.
 
The Rainbow Wahine will reach the midpoint of the Big West schedule on Thursday, Jan. 30 when they face UCSD at 7 p.m. Pacific Time (5 p.m. Hawai'i Time) at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, Calif. UH then takes on Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT (noon HT) at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif., in their second meeting of the season.
 
UH swept last week's homestand with wins over conference contenders UC Davis and UC Irvine and moved into a tie for first place with UCI and Long Beach State at 7-2 in Big West play. UC San Diego, which has won four straight, is tied with UC Davis, one game behind the leaders at 6-3.
 

GAME 20: HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (13-6, 7-2 BIG WEST) at UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS (10-11, 6-3 BIG WEST)
Date | Time				Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025  |  7:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. HT)
Location				LionTree Arena — La Jolla, Calif.
Television				None
Live Stream				ESPN+ — Ted Mendenhall, Madison Baxter
Radio				None
Live Stats				ucsdtritons.com
Game Notes				Hawai'i | UC San Diego

  HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 213-165 (13th season)

SERIES RECORD vs. UC SAN DIEGOOverall: Series tied 3-3
Last meeting: UH 64, UCSD 52; Feb. 8, 2024, La Jolla, Calif.

TOUGH ON D

• The 'Bows held UC Davis and UC Irvine to combined 28.2% shooting last week and rose to No. 2 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense at 33.2% for the season.
• UH leads the Big West and ranks fifth in NCAA Division I in scoring defense in allowing 52.6 points per game.
• UH has held 15 opponents under 40% shooting, including seven games under 30%, and is 13-2 in those contests.
• The 'Bows have held their last six opponents under 50 points, the longest such streak in program history. UH had a run of five straight sub-50 point defensive performances in the final two games of the 1975-76 season and the first three of the 1976-77 season. The previous single-season high was four set in 1977 and last season.
• The 'Bows remain atop the Big West and rank 14th nationally in blocks per game (5.3). Three UH players rank in the top 10 in the Big West in blocks per game — Ritorya Tamilo (third, 1.44 bpg), Imani Perez (seventh, 1.18) and Brooklyn Rewers (10th, 1.00).

STACKING WINS

• UH's current winning streak is the longest since the 'Bows won their final seven games of the regular season last year. UH last won eight straight late in the 2021-22 season during its run to the Big West Championship.
• The Rainbow Wahine have held their last seven opponents to 50 points or fewer, allowing an average of 44.7 points per game on 29.6% shooting during their winning streak.  
• UH has controlled the boards over the last seven games with a plus-12.7 rebounding margin over that span. The 'Bows are 11-0 when outrebounding their opponents this season.
• The 'Bows have a 15.3-point scoring margin per game during their winning streak.
• UH enters the week 4-3 on the road this season and has won its last three road games.

'BOWS NOTES

• Lily Wahinekapu continues to lead the team with 10.7 points per game, 54 assists and 25 steals. The senior is averaging 12.3 points while shooting 44.6% from the field in Big West play.
• Imani Perez has scored in double figures four of the last five games, averaging 12.6 points while shooting 58.5% from the field over that span. The junior is shooting 55.1% in conference play.
• Brooklyn Rewers has provided a boost off the bench by scoring in double figures in eight of the last 11 games. The senior is averaging 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in Big West play.
• MeiLani McBee has 190 3-pointers for her career and is 15 away from the program's record held by Amy Atwell. The senior has played in 127 games in her career and moved past Atwell (2016-22) as the program's all-time leader on Jan. 25 against UC Irvine.
• Center Ritorya Tamilo posted the first double-double of her career with 11 points and 11 rebounds against UC Irvine on Jan. 25. The freshman is third on the team with 8.1 points per game and is shooting a team-high 50.5% from the field. She also leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game and 26 blocked shots.
• UH head coach Laura Beeman earned her 600^th win of her career on Jan. 16 at CSUN. She posted 390 wins at Mt. San Antonio College (1994-2010) and now has 213 over her 13 seasons leading the Rainbow Wahine.

 
THE MATCHUP

• UH and UC San Diego enter Thursday's game with the longest winning streaks in the Big West. The 'Bows have won seven in a row and the Tritons have won their last four.
• The Rainbow Wahine and Tritons meet for the seventh time in a series that began on Jan. 13, 2022, an 82-58 UC San Diego win in La Jolla, Calif.
• UCSD won the first three meetings between the programs and UH has claimed the last three. The 'Bows won both of last year's matchups by 64-52 scores.
• UH leads 2-1 in games played in La Jolla, Calif.
• UCSD last defeated UH on Jan. 5, 2023, 60-57 in Honolulu.
• UCSD head coach Heidi VanDerveer is in her 13th season at UCSD and has a record of 242-125. She has a total record of 350-206 including stops at Occidental and Eastern Washington.
• The Tritons are riding a season-high four-game winning streak and defeated UC Santa Barbara (62-43) and CSUN (82-44) last week to move within a game of conference tri-leaders Hawaii, UC Irvine and Long Beach State.
• UCSD leads the Big West and ranks 22^nd nationally with 11.8 steals per game.
• UCSD guard Sumayah Sugapong was named Big West Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday. The sophomore leads the Tritons with 13.7 points per and leads the Big West in assists (3.9 per game) and steals (52, 2.48 per game).
• Sabrina Ma earned the Big West Player of the Week award on Jan. 20 and ranks second in the conference in 3-point percentage (40.7%) and 3-pointers per game (2.29).
• Sugapong (52), Ma (45) and Parker Montgomery (41) are 1-2-3 in the Big West in steals.
• UCSD's four-year reclassification period to Division I ended on July 1, 2024. The Tritons are eligible for postseason play for the first time since joining the Big West in 2020.
   

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