Utah State's women's basketball game at Hawai'i has been postponed until Sunday afternoon, as weather in San Francisco forced the delay of the team's flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco and they missed their connecting flight to Honolulu. Due to the busy travel of President's Day holiday weekend, no other connections had openings.
Dense fog in the San Francisco area forced the closing of the San Francisco International Airport for three hours Friday.
"Whenever you involve air travel and water, things are going to be difficult if there are delays. We can't make excuses, we just have to accept things and move on," USU head coach Reagan Pebley said. "There is no reason not to play this game. This is a very important game for both teams."
Tip-off is now set for 6 p.m. (Mountain Time) at UH's Stan Sheriff Center for the Western Athletic Conference match-up. With just two weeks left in the regular-season, the game has important implications on the conference standings, as USU is 6-5 in WAC play, 10-13 overall, currently in a three-way logjam for third-place with Nevada and Fresno State. Hawai'i is a half-game back with a 6-6 WAC record, 12-12 overall.
Both teams will be without their head coaches, as USU head coach Raegan Pebley did not make the trip after having a baby on Jan. 30. Assistant coach George Brosky will be the acting head coach with assistance from assistants Kristy Flores and Erin Scholz. Pebley has missed four games this season due to her pregnancy, and USU is 2-2 under Brosky's lead.
Hawai'i will be without head coach Jim Bolla, who is on medical leave. Associate coach Pat Charity is the interim head coach. The game also pits two teams toting win streaks, as USU has won three games in a row for the first time since 2005, while Hawai'i in on a five-game winning streak that began with a 62-57 win at Utah State on Jan. 27 at Logan.
This is the second delay this school year involving a Utah State women's athletics team at Hawai'i, as the USU soccer team's game at Hawai'i in mid-October was postponed a day after an earthquake rocked the islands the morning of the originally-scheduled match.
Utah State women's basketball games can be heard on KLGN (1390 AM) in Logan with Evan Nyman calling the play-by-play. They can also be heard on the web by going to the women's basketball home page at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on the LISTEN link.