The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team is preparing to host Long Beach State in the annual “Beeman’s Big Bash” event on Saturday, January 31 at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
Hawai’i enters the matchup with a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season and currently the longest active run in the Big West Conference. The Rainbow Wahine recently defeated UC Irvine, who was tied for first place in the conference before Thursday’s game. Freshman Bailey Flavell led Hawai’i with 18 points, all scored in the second half, helping hold UC Irvine to just 32.7% shooting from the field.
Saturday’s event will include fan promotions and giveaways sponsored by American Savings Bank (ASB). The first 500 fans through the doors will receive foam fingers, and ASB will have a prize wheel at Gate A with items such as clear bags and cooling towels. Cheerleaders will launch shirts into the crowd during introductions, and a custom small business prize pack will be awarded for the Tell Terry V Lucky Seat promotion. If Hawai’i scores 67 points during the game, there will be a spam musubi toss provided by 7-Eleven at the next timeout.
Additional activities include Lucky Bags filled with team apparel distributed during timeouts and a halftime performance by UH Rainbow Warrior Dancers featuring children from their Keiki Camp. Nearly 30 former Rainbow Wahine players are expected to attend as part of an effort organized by the UH Letterwinners Club. After the game, fans can participate in an autograph session with team members near Gate B.
Head coach Laura Beeman leads Hawai’i into her 14th season with a record of 233-178. Under her leadership, Hawai’i has won four of its last five meetings against Long Beach State and holds a series lead of 28-23 overall.
Freshman guard Bailey Flavell continues to pace Hawai’i offensively with an average of 14.2 points per game this season and has led scoring in twelve games so far. Freshman guard Keiara Curtis has reached double figures in nine out of ten recent games and maintained a streak of hitting at least one three-pointer in each contest over that span.
Senior forward Imani Perez anchors Hawai’i’s defense; she leads both her team and conference with an average of 1.84 blocked shots per game—ranking her nationally as well—and has recorded blocks in seventeen out of nineteen appearances this year. As a unit, Hawai’i ranks sixth nationally for blocks per game (6), surpassing its previous program record set during the 2004-05 season.
Senior forward Saniyah Neverson leads Big West players in field goal percentage during conference play at 56.6%. Defensively, Hawai’i remains strong—second-best in their conference and ranked twenty-second nationally for holding opponents to just over thirty-six percent shooting from the field; over their last six games they have limited teams to only thirty-two percent shooting combined.
Long Beach State comes into Saturday’s contest following a win against UC Riverside earlier this week where sophomore JaQuoia Jones-Brown matched her career high with twenty-nine points on ten-for-nineteen shooting attempts. Jones-Brown leads Long Beach State both in scoring (17.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 per game), while teammate Judit Oliva Fernandez is third among Big West players for blocked shots.
Before tipoff, fans can attend “Wahine Experience,” hosted by UH and ESPN Honolulu at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex from 4–6 p.m., where attendees can interact with athletes from all UH women’s teams and receive prizes from sponsors.
The Rainbow Wahine are currently sixth in Big West standings after losing their first five conference games but rebounding strongly since then under Coach Beeman’s direction.
