Hawai`i Hilo (7-12/7-9 PWC) vs. Dixie State (4-18/4-12 PWC) Thursday (Feb. 16, 5 p.m.)
Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium/Live Stream/Live Stats at www.hiloathletics.com, radio ESPN 850

Hilo Headlines: UH Hilo snapped a three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins at home last Thursday and Saturday. The Vulcans knocked off Fresno Pacific (62-54) in the lone meeting between the two teams this year, and then made it a season sweep of BYU-Hawaii on Saturday (65-55).

Four to Go: With a Pacific West Conference record of 7-9 and an overall mark of 7-12, the Vulcans have just four games left in the season. UH Hilo sits 2.5 games back of the sixth place slot in the conference, the magic spot to advance to the conference tournament in early March. In their remaining four games, UHH plays two teams below them in the standings (Dixie State and Holy Names) and two above them (Dominican, Academy of Art).

Senior Six: Thursday's game at the Civic is the final home game of the season, and thus the last time that six UHH seniors will play in Hilo. That group includes Vanessa Mancera (injured), Lauren Hong, Alexa Jacobs, Asia Smith, Sydney Mercer and Pilialoha Kailiawa. That six will be honored after the game on Thursday.

By the Numbers: Sophomore Kim Schmelz leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points a game. As a freshman in 2015-16, she paced the squad with 12 points an outing. She has potted over 20 four times in her 13 games, including a career-best 28 in an overtime win at BYU-Hawaii...Sydney Mercer is also in double figures with 11.7 points a game and had a career-high 24 against Holy Names. She had 22 on Thursday against Fresno Pacific...Freshman Sharlei Graham-Bernisto notched her career best with 17 points in the win over BYU-Hawaii on Saturday. She led all scorers with that total, hitting 11-of-14 free throws down the stretch to secure the win...Alexa Jacobs leads the team in assists with 60. She had a season-best of eight against Chaminade on Dec. 10. She had the first double-double of her career against Cal Baptist with 11 points and 10 rebounds...Senior Vanessa Mancera paces the squad with 17 three-pointers made and with 20 steals, despite missing the last four games...Mercer leads the team in free throw accuracy at .816 (31-of-38)...Asia Smith averages 6.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. She lists sixth in the PacWest in that boards category. In her first game in a Vulcan uniform, she pulled down 17 rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills, two shy of the UHH single-game record.

Defending the Basket: UH Hilo lists third in the 14-team Pacific West Conference in defense, giving up just 65.1 points a game.

Taking Advantage of Charity: The Vulcans tore it up at the free throw line last week, converting 11-of-14 against Fresno Pacific (.786) and a season-high 27-of-35 against the Seasiders (.771). On the season, UHH is shooting just .663 from the charity stripe.

The Training Room has been Full: Coach Kaneshiro has had to work most of the season without a full deck, always with at least one player on the shelf because of injury, often times as many three or four. Kim Schmelz, Asia Smith, Patience Taylor and Lauren Hong are starters that have all missed game time, and now Vanessa Mancera joins that list. The senior was injured in the Cal Baptist games and is likely out for the rest of the season. Taylor has missed ten games and her status is not yet known for this week.

Head Coach David Kaneshiro: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro (72-95) is in his seventh season as the leader of the UHH program. Prior to his appointment as the Vulcans head coach, he was an assistant with the men's program for four seasons. He led UHH to winning campaigns in 2011-12 (14-12) and 2012-13 (13-11). Prior to his arrival at Hilo, he was the head coach for three seasons Blackburn College (Ill.), where he twice won conference championships and in 2006 was named the St. Louis Athletic Conference co-coach of the year. He also spent two seasons as the head coach at Webster University (Mo.). He served one season as the lead assistant at Stanislaus State.
 
A Look Back: Last year the Vulcans went 0-5 in non-conference play but righted the ship for PacWest action, finishing 10-10 in league and just missing the PWC tournament by one spot, finishing in seventh place. They were 10-15 overall.

Trailblazer Tales: Dixie State snapped a five-game losing streak earlier this month with back-to-back wins over BYU-Hawaii (67-61) and Chaminade (76-74, OT). They then ran into PWC leader California Baptist, but played the Lancers close before falling, 85-68. Ashlee Burgee leads a balanced effort with 10.8 points and 6.1 points a game. Tramina Jordan is right behind her at 10.7 points a contest. The Vulcans escaped with a 60-57 win over the Trailblazers earlier this year in St. George, but Dixie State leads the all-time series between the team teams, 15-5. UHH has won the last two contests.
 
Pacific West Conference Standings
Team                                       PWC               Overall
California Baptist                   16-0                 25-2
Point Loma                             14-2                 20-3
Hawai`i Pacific                       14-2                 17-4
Notre Dame de Namur            11-6                 13-11
Azusa Pacific                          11-6                 13-12
Academy of Art                      9-6                  13-10
Dominican                               9-8                  13-11
Concordia                               7-9                  9-13 
Hawai`i Hilo                           7-9                  7-12
BYU-Hawaii                           5-11                 8-14
Dixie State                              4-12                 4-18
Chaminade                              3-15                 3-19
Fresno Pacific                         2-14                 5-19
Holy Names                            2-14                 2-20