The holidays are a time for sharing between the University of Hawai'i women's and men's basketball teams.

The Rainbow Wahine got an assist this week from men's coach Riley Wallace, who loaned the women a $7,500 basketball shooting machine for practice.

"Riley lets us use it," Rainbow Wahine coach Jim Bolla said of the shooting aid that resembles a big, motorized pop-a-shot arcade game. "This machine is great."

This season has been anything but fun and games for Hawai'i (5-5), which hosts San Francisco (4-8) tonight in the opening round of the two-day Bank of Hawaii Invitational.

Hawai'i hasn't played since its 65-62 loss to visiting Chattanooga on Dec. 16, and needs a strong performance in its final preseason games before the start of the Western Athletic Conference season, Jan. 4, against visiting New Mexico State.

"These two preseason games are important for us," UH junior guard Saundra Cariaga said. "If we win them, we'll have momentum going into the WAC."

In practices this week, Bolla implemented two-a-day workouts, slashed 12 ineffective plays from the offense, and required each player to shoot a minimum of 500 shots every day.

"It's a bit tiring, but it gets us back in rhythm," UH senior wing Pam Tambini said of the workouts. "We know he's serious, so we need to get serious because 5-5 (win-loss) is not where we want to be."

Bolla said he was pleased with the recent performances of his guards — Cariaga (7.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Tambini (14.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 apg) and Janevia Taylor (14.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg) — but he wanted more production from his interior players.

"In our last four or five games, we've gotten hardly anything from our post play," he said.

Starting post players Tanya Smith (5.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.0 apg) and Brittany Grice (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) are nursing leg injuries.

"Hopefully with this holiday break we've gotten them a little healthier," Bolla said.

The tournament will mark the return of Columbia senior forward Becky Hogue, a 2003 Punahou graduate and Advertiser All-State first-team selection.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.