Rainbow Wahine, Vulcans to Meet in Exhibition Basketball Game

The University of Hawai`i at Manoa released their 2012 – 2013 women’s basketball schedule today, and the lone exhibition on the Rainbow Wahine hoops schedule features their sister school from the Big Island.

On October 26, the University of Hawai`i at Hilo will visit the Stan Sheriff Center to open the inaugural season of new head coach Laura Beeman, who comes to Hawai`i from USC, where she was an assistant coach.The exhibition game was one of the last building blocks to complete the schedule. UH Hilo did not have the game listed on their schedule, which was released last month, but head coach David Kaneshiro previously said that both sides were working on an agreement to make the game happen.

It will be the season opener for both schools. For Hawai`i, the exhibition game will lead them into a road game against San Francisco two weeks later. The following week, the Rainbow Wahine will host the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic, featuring national powers Stanford and Baylor.

After the Vulcans play their exhibition game, they have 21 days off before they take the floor for their home opener against Chaminade, a PacWest Conference foe who will be visiting for a non-conference affair.

Last year, both teams played a regular season game at the Stan Sheriff Center because of scheduling issues caused by Western Athletic Conference defections. The Rainbow Wahine edged the Vulcans by the score of 60-51. This will be the second meeting between the sister schools, and first as an exhibition contest.