HILO, Hawai`i—In the game of basketball, it's often not how you start but how you finish.
The Azusa Pacific women's team made a case for that point on Tuesday night at the Civic Auditorium, coming from behind in the literal final second to edge Hawai`i Hilo, 66-65 in a Pacific West Conference match-up.
Gabrielle Kaiser hit one of two free throws with 1.1 ticks left on the clock to give the Cougars their second lead since late in the second quarter. That lone basket capped a comeback for the visitors who had trailed by 11 points earlier in the quarter.
The defending co-champion Cougars won their third straight to improve to 4-1 in the PacWest and 6-7 overall. It was a heartbreaking sixth straight loss for the Vulcans, who are now 1-8 overall and 1-5 in conference action.
Kim Schmelz led the Vulcans with a season-high 21 points.
Sharlei Graham-Bernisto also put up her best point total of the year with 13. Freshman Rachel Bozlee led the visitors with 21 points.
"That was obviously a heartbreaker," said Vulcan head coach
David Kaneshiro. "But I was really proud of our effort. We just came up a little bit short."
Playing without three players that have started this year—
Asia Smith,
Lauren Hong and
Patience Taylor-- all out with injuries, Kaneshiro was height challenged tonight against a taller team. But
Pilialoha Kailiawa pulled down a career best nine rebounds, and all eight Vulcan players pulled down at least two boards or more.
"Pilialoha did a great job inside, boxing out and rebounding," Kaneshiro added. "Everyone worked hard on both ends of the court."
Tied early in the fourth quarter (48-48), the Vulcans went on a 11-0 run to gain their largest lead of the night (59-48) on a
Sydney Mercer free throw. But the Cougars began a methodical comeback that saw them take their first lead since the 2:34 mark of the second period on a three-pointer by Abbey Goodsell with 1:21 left (63-62).
UHH's Schmelz countered with a trey with 1:02 on the clock (65-63) but Kaiser tied it back up with a basket 15 seconds later (65-65). After a Vulcan turnover, the Cougars worked the clock down for a final shot with Kaiser drawing the foul inside. She hit one of two shots and the Vuls could only inbound and watch the clock go to zero.
APU shot just 30 percent from the field on the night, but hit 9-of-30 three's to help cover that deficit. UHH won the rebound battle 45-42 but also turned the ball over 22 times.
The game held everyone's interest from the get-go.
UH Hilo broke out to a 5-0 lead in the opening moments of the game on a Mercer three-pointer and a Graham-Bernisto basket. But Azusa answered with an 8-0 run and the teams then traded baskets until the end of the quarter, tied at 13-13.
The Cougars came out of the break firing, hitting three-pointers on four consecutive possessions—two by Bozlee and a pair by Zoe March to take a 25-17 lead. But the Vulcans charged back with a 7-0 blitz of their own, pulling within one digit on a Graham-Bernisto trey. The freshman from Hilo High School then gave her team their first lead since the beginning of the game with two free throws and another trey, sending the Vuls to the locker room with a 31-27 margin.
Schmelz had 12 points at the break and Graham-Bernisto had ten to help offset 11 counters from APU's Bozlee. The Cougars also shot just 19 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, the Cougars tied the game quickly (31-31), but a 6-0 run gave UHH the lead back. With the Vulcans holding a 41-40 lead with just over four minutes left in the quarter, back-up forward
Jamaika Lorenzo went to work. The 5-11 Honoka'a product scored on three straight possessions, including the conversion of a three-point play. She had nine points during a span of 3:30, giving her a season high in less than a half of quarter of work and setting up the final wild ten minutes.
The Vulcans will return to the court on Saturday, hosting Concordia in a conference match-up. Start time will be 5 p.m.
"We have a lot of season to go," Kaneshiro added. "We keep making improvements and that's all I can ask for."
