Hawaii, tops in the WAC in field-goal defense, faces San Diego State, with the stingiest defense in the country, at 5 p.m. HST in a critical conference match for both teams.
Both teams must win in order to keep their hopes alive for the Pacific Division title, as well as a first-round bye in the WAC Tournament. A loss all but relegates the Wahine to a third-place finish and a first-round game on March 3 in Las Vegas.
"If San Diego State has the edge it's that they have a few more athletes," said Colorado State coach Greg Williams. "Hawaii has BJ (Itoman) and (Nani) Cockett. San Diego has five, six athletes just like them. I think it will be a great game."
It was Williams' Rams who put the Wahine in this predicament via last Saturday's 71-64 win at the Special Events Arena. By completing the series sweep, CSU has the edge over Hawaii in the first tie-breaking rule: head-to-head competition.
"We all know what we have to do," said Wahine freshman guard Raylene Howard, who scored a career-high 21 points in Saturday's loss. "We have all got to go and do our jobs in San Diego. We beat them at home and we can win at their home."
History is not on Hawaii's side in this case. The Wahine are 5-7 in Peterson Gym, including an 81-75 defeat in 1994 that eliminated them from the NCAA tournament in the first round.
This season, the Aztecs are 10-2 at home, 7-0 in WAC play. They have not been beaten at their campus gym since Dec. 19, a 66-48 loss to Arizona.
San Diego State would like to avenge its only WAC defeat tonight. Hawaii made 19 of 29 free throws - compared to the Aztecs' 2 of 6 - to win, 54-44, at the Special Events Arena on Jan. 25.
The Wahine's offensive output was then the most points scored on the Aztecs by a WAC opponent. San Diego State is currently holding teams to a national-best 51.1 points per game; Hawaii ranks 25th at 58.5 ppg.
One of the keys for Hawaii will be containing senior forward Jodi Nowlin-Tres, who was the only Aztec to score in double figures (20 points) when the teams last met. The Wahine also need to keep junior forward Olivia DeCamilli boxed out and deny point guard Sandy Wright passes to her favorite targets.
On its side of the court, Hawaii is going to need more than Cockett and Itoman to score. Junior forward Brandi Ashby had 12 points and 10 rebounds in helping down the Aztecs. But last Saturday, she and the rest of the Wahine post players all but disappeared.