HONOLULU — The University of Hawai'i women's basketball team wraps up its first Big West homestand of 2026 by taking on UC San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Rainbow Wahine (6-7, 0-3 Big West) will look to rebound from a 65-58 loss to UC Riverside on New Year's Day and face the Tritons for the first time since UCSD pulled out a 51-49 win in the semifinals of last season's Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev.
| GAME 14: HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (6-7, 0-3 BIG WEST) vs. UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS (7-5, 2-0 BIG WEST) |
| Date | Time |
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. HT |
| Location |
Bankoh 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 |
| Live Stats |
HawaiiAthletics.com |
| Tickets |
etickethawaii.com |
| Game Notes |
Hawai'i | UC San Diego |
| Promotions |
Saturday's matchup is sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank, featuring three fun prizes to give away during halftime for our fan challenge, plus t-shirts for our in-game t-shirt toss. Hailey Simeon from Waipahu Intermediate will perform the national anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i leading up to tipoff. |
HEAD COACH LAURA BEEMANAt Hawai'i: 228-176 (14th season)
SERIES RECORD vs. UC SAN DIEGOSeries Record: UH leads 5-4
Streak: UCSD won 1
Last Meeting: UCSD 51-49; March 14, 2025, Henderson, Nev.
'BOWS NOTES
- UH is 0-3 in conference play for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
- Guard Keiara Curtis set a season high with 17 points against UC Riverside and has scored in double figures in each of the last three games. The freshman is averaging 14.7 points with six 3-pointers while shooting 51.6% from the field over that span.
- Freshman guard Bailey Flavell continues to lead the 'Bows with 13.5 points per game. She's scored in double figures in 10 games and scored nine in the other three. She also leads the team with 17 3-pointers.
- Senior forward Imani Perez had 12 rebounds against UC Riverside in her fourth double-digit performance of the season and ninth of her career. She leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game and 20 blocked shots. She ranks second in the Big West with 1.7 blocks per game and enters Saturday's game with 99 career blocks.
- Saniyah Neverson had 11 points on Thursday and is third on the team in scoring (7.1 points per game) and second in rebounding (4.8 rebounds per game). Neverson and Flavell are the only 'Bows to start all 13 games this season.
- UH senior Izzy Forsyth played three seasons at UC San Diego and saw action in 85 games with 46 starts for the Tritons. She hit 62 3-pointers in her UCSD career and served as a team captain in the 2023-24 season.
- As a team, UH psoted eight blocked shots against UC Riverside and rose to 13th nationally with 5.8 blocks per game. UH blocked 14 shots at Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 6 to tie the program's single-game record previously set in 2005.
- With Flavell and Curtis leading the way, UH's six true freshmen have contributed 48.8% of the team's scoring.
- UH is 19-2 in Big West home games over the last two seasons. Thursday's loss to UC Riverside snapped a nine-game winning streak in conference home games.
THE MATCHUP
- Hawai'i and UC San Diego meet for the 10th time in a series that began in 2022.
- The series is tied 2-2 in meetings in Honolulu. UH has won the last two matchups at home. UCSD last won in Mānoa on Jan. 5, 2023.
- UCSD won the first three meetings before UH won five in a row. The Tritons ended the streak with a 51-49 win in the semifinals of last season's Big West Championship in Henderson, Nev. UH erased a 27-point deficit in the second half to tie the game with 1:33 left. A driving layup with 0.1 seconds left gave UCSD the win.
- UCSD went on to claim its first Big West Championship title and an NCAA Tournament berth in its first season of Division I postseason eligibility.
- UCSD head coach Heidi VanDerveer is in her 14th season at UCSD and has a record of 259-135. She has a total record of 367-216 over her 21-year career including stops at Occidental and Eastern Washington.
- UCSD opened the week with a 75-54 win over Cal Poly on Thursday in La Jolla, Calif., before making the trip to Hawai'i. Rosa Smith led the Tritons with 21 points, eight assists and three steals. Smith hit four of UCSD's eight 3-pointers.
- Erin Condron, a 6-foot-4 forward/center, leads the Tritons with 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The junior has three double-doubles this season and leads the Big West in field-goal percentage at .568.
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