Vulcans take new momentum into road match-up at BYU-Hawaii
 
Hawai`i Hilo (2-8/2-05 PWC) vs. BYU-Hawaii (6-7/3-4 PWC), Saturday (Jan. 14, 5 pm), Cannon Activities Center, Laie, Hawaii
Live Stream/Live Stats at www.byuhawaiisports.com, 
 
Hilo Headlines: The Vulcans pulled off one upset and were just a basket away from another during home games last week at the Civic Auditorium. UHH stunned Concordia 76-73 on Saturday and dropped a heartbreaker to Azusa Pacific (66-65) on Tuesday. The win snapped a six-game losing streak and gives Coach David Kaneshiro's team a victory over a top tier team in the Pacific West Conference.
 
Skeleton Crew Steps UP: The Vulcans played their best basketball of the season last week and did it without three of their top players. Still out due to injury is Lauren Hong, Patience Taylor and Asia Smith. That trio's status for this week is still not known.  Smith is averaging 7.8 points and 8.3 rebounds a contest, and earlier this season pulled down 17 rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills, just two boards shy of the UHH single-game record of 19. Hong averaged 10 points a game last year and had a season-best of 11 this year against Notre Dame de Namur, but has played in only four games. Taylor, a 6-0 sophomore, is averaging 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game and had started in all eight games that she played.

Kaneshiro's Comments: "There were a lot of positive emotions after the Concordia game," head coach David Kaneshiro said. "This group has great heart and keeps battling back from adversity. We are working hard and getting better and we are playing a lot better against good teams. Everyone is contributing. Each person is stepping up and fulfilling their role on the team."

So Close: UHH led for most of the game during their January 3 clash with Azusa Pacific, but a Cougar free throw with 1.1 seconds left put the Vulcans on the short end of the scoreboard for a 66-65 loss. UHH led at the half (31-27), at the end of the third quarter (48-46) and even pushed that margin to 11 points (59-48) with 5:37 left. But the Cougars charged back, taking their first lead since the first quarter with 1:21 remaining. A Kim Schmelz three-pointer with 1:02 left gave the lead back to the home team (65-63), but her team wouldn't score again as APU escaped with the win. "That was heartbreaking," Kaneshiro said. "We are so close and we will soon figure out how to win those kinds of game," he said, somewhat prophetically. Schmelz led the Vulcans with 21 points and Sharlei Graham-Bernisto had a career-high 13.

Vulcans Stun Eagles: Senior guard Alexa Jacobs drove the lane and kissed a shot off the glass from the left-hand side with 4.6 seconds left to give the Vulcans a 76-73 upset win over Concordia on Saturday night (Jan. 7). That shot and Kim Schmelz's cliniching free throw a few seconds later capped a wild game that saw the two teams combine for 93 first half points and numerous lead changes in the fourth quarter. A jumper by Schmelz gave the hosts a 73-71 with 36 seconds left but Concordia tied the game with 24 seconds remaining at 73-73, setting up Jacobs' heroics. Schmelz finished with 15 points, Sydney Mercer added 14, Sharlei Graham-Bernisto added 12 and Amber Vaughn had 11. Pilialoha Kailiawa had a career-best 10 rebounds. Concordia came into the game with a 4-2 record in the PacWest.

By the Numbers: With the teams' top two rebounders sidelined in Asia Smith (8.3) and Patience Taylor (5.6), someone had to step up to fill the board void and 6-0 senior Pilialoha Kailiawa certainly did. She had nine rebounds in the loss to Azusa Pacific and then added 10 against Concordia...The 76 points against the Eagles was a season-high for the Vulcans...Kim Schmelz had 36 points in the two games and now leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points a game. As a freshman in 2015-16, she paced the squad with 12 points an outing...Sydney Mercer is also in double figures with 10.3 points a game...Freshman Sharlei Graham-Bernisto scored in double figures for the first time in her collegiate career, twice. She had 13 against Azusa Pacific and 12 versus Concordia, in both cases coming off the bench. She hit a pair of treys in both games...Alexa Jacobs leads the team in assists with 28. She had a season-best of eight against Chaminade on Dec. 10...The win versus Concordia was UHH's first home victory of the season. They are 1-1 at BYU-Hawaii this year, where they opened the year at the Seasider Classic...Senior Vanessa Mancera paces the squad with eight three-pointers made...Mercer and Jacobs are the only two Vulcans to start in all ten games. Graham-Bernisto leads the squad in minutes played (29.5 per game). 
 
Home, Sweet Home: The Vulcans will return for games in Hilo at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium on Jan. 19 and 21 versus Holy Names and Hawaii Pacific.
 
Head Coach David Kaneshiro: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro (67-91) 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.
 
Seasider Sentences: In their final season ever of collegiate basketball (they are eliminating the athletic program at the conclusion of 2016-17), the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders are 6-7 overall and 3-4 in the Pacific West Conference. The Seasiders dropped home games last week to Concordia (83-64) and Azusa Pacific (56-47). They have conference wins over Notre Dame de Namur (83-65), Dominican (85-75) and Chaminade (62-55). 5-10 junior Safia Skeikh leads her team with 17.5 points a game. The Pfieffer College transfer and Denmark native has hit a sizzling 31 of 75 three-point attempts (.415). Her sister Marian Skeikh adds 12.5 points a game. The Vulcans and Seasiders split games last year, with each team winning on the other squad's court.