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The Hawaii women’s basketball team will play a handful of marquee opponents at the Stan Sheriff Center as part of its 2014-15 schedule announced Friday.
Stanford and North Carolina, elite teams that advanced deep in the NCAA tournament last season, are part of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Shootout on Nov. 28-30.
The Wahine also play California of the Pac-12 in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 21.
UH opens the season on the road for the third straight year under third-year coach Laura Beeman, this time Nov. 14 at Colorado State.
Ten opponents reached the postseason in 2013-14 — five in the women’s NCAA tournament and five in the WNIT.
“I am excited about the 2014-15 schedule. It is a schedule balanced with competitive parity,” Beeman said in a UH release. “We will see the likes of Stanford, Cal and UNC during our preseason (nonconference play), making our tournaments once again one of the most competitive in the country. Our preseason will prepare us for a very competitive Big West Conference lineup. It is our goal every year to win the Big West Conference and we feel this schedule helps prepare us in this undertaking.”
In total, the Wahine play 18 games at home (including an exhibition Oct. 29 vs. Hawaii Hilo) and 12 on the road. Those include eight home games and eight road games in Big West play.
UH begins Big West play with four of its first five on the road, starting at Cal Poly on Jan. 8.
The Wahine went 17-14 and qualified for the WNIT in each of Beeman’s first two seasons.
