Long Beach State University Athletics
LONG BEACH STATE OPENS CONFERENCE ACTION AGAINST HAWAII
1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Complete LBSU Game Notes 
| Hawaii Game Notes
GAME #16
Long Beach State (9-6) vs. Hawaii (4-8)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 5
Time: 7 p.m. (PT)
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Radio: KBeach.org
Radio Talent: Jason Schwartz
Webcast: BigWest.TV
LONG BEACH STATE OPENS CONFERENCE ACTION AGAINST HAWAII
Long Beach State kicks off Big West Conference action on Thursday, Jan. 5 when it hosts Hawaii at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.
QUICK HITS
• The Beach are 19-12 in Big West Conference openers, but 0-1 against the Rainbow Wahine in league openers as the 49ers fell to Hawaii last season 67-55 in the 2015-16 conference debut.
• Long Beach State defeated No. 22 South Florida, 73-68, on Monday, Dec. 19 to open the Play4Kay Shootout marking the 49ers' first win over a ranked opponent since Dec. 13, 2014 when they defeated then-No. 18 Cal, 58-56, in overtime.
• Senior Madison Montgomery tallied 48 points at the Play4Kay Shootout as she averaged 16.0 ppg, while shooting 48.6 percent (17-for-35) as she helped the Beach hand No. 22 USF its first loss of the season.
• Senior Raven Benton is just six rebounds away from 500 career boards and becoming just the 13th player in LBSU women's basketball program history to enter the 1,000 point-500 rebound club.
• The Beach has led the Big West in steals in each of the last three seasons and is currently sitting atop the league with 159 which ranks them 13th in the nation.
• In addition to leading the league in steals, LBSU also leads the Big West in Turnover Margin (+6.7), Offensive Rebounds (15.3) and Three-Point Field Goals Made (128).
• Long Beach State was tabbed as the favorite to claim the 2016-17 Big West title in both the coaches preseason poll and the media poll.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawaii enters the Walter Pyramid with a 4-8 and are coming off of a 51-47 victory over Grand Canyon to close out its non-conference schedule. Despite the win, Hawaii has lost six of its last eight games.
The Rainbow Wahine are shooting 34.8 percent from the field and averaging 55.8 points per game. Their oppinents hold the offensive edge averaging 63.9 points per game, while shooting 37.4 percent.
Sarah Toeaina leads Hawaii in scoring with 11.2 points per game, while senior Briana Harris adds 10.7 points per game. Makenna Woodflok is the team's leading rebounder averaging 7.0 boards per game.
SERIES VS. HAWAII
Long Beach State and Hawaii will meet for the 36th time in program history and the Rainbow Wahine own a slight edge in the all-time series leading the Beach 17-16. In their last meeting, Hawaii ended LBSU's season in the Big West Conference semifinals a year ago as the Rainbow Wahine defeated the 49ers 76-60. Long Beach State looks to snap a seven-game losing streak to Hawaii which dates back to 2014. The Beach's last win over the Rainbow Wahine came on Jan. 30, 2014, when LBSU defeated Hawaii, 74-72, at the Pyramid.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State continues Big West Conference action on the road as the 49ers travel to UC Davis on Thursday, Jan. 12 for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
