Ready and rested, Vulcans host three PacWest foes
 
Hawai`i Hilo (1-1) vs. California Baptist (3-4), Thurs., Nov. 30, 5 pm, UH Hilo Gym
Hawaii Hilo vs. Biola (1-3), Saturday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m., UH Hilo Gym
Hawaii Hilo vs. Concordia (2-2), Monday, Dec. 4, 5 p.m., UH Hilo Gym
Live Stream/Live Stats at www.hiloathletics.com,
 
Hilo Headlines: The Vulcans return to the court for the first time in nearly three weeks on Thursday, playing three games in five days to open up the 2017-18 Pacific West Conference season. Coach David Kaneshiro's team will play defending PacWest title winner (and NCAA Final four participant) California Baptist on Thursday, conference newcomer Biola on Saturday and Concordia (Monday).
 
The Friendly Confines: All three games during this long weekend will start at 5 pm and be played on campus in the UH Hilo Gymnasium, the same facility where the Vulcans practice. The remaining home games (beginning January 3) will be played in Hilo's Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
 
Mix and Match: The 2017-18 Vulcans are a mix of newcomers and returnees. Five letterwinners are back, including PacWest honorable mention guard Kim Schmelz, who averaged 14.6 points a game. Asia Smith, a 5-11 senior post is also back. She averaged 7.5 points and a robust 8.9 rebounds a contest, including a single-game high of 17 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Six-foot junior center Patience Taylor returns, as does guard Amber Vaughn and 5-11 forward Jamaika Lorenzo. Taylor missed half of last season with an injury, but averaged almost six points a game and over four rebounds a contest. Vaughn played in 22 of UHH's 23 games, starting seven, and Lorenzo came off the bench in 20 of UHH's 23 games.
 
Welcome to Hilo: Coach Kaneshiro has an impressive group of newcomers to work with, including four transfers and three freshmen. Senior Safia Sheikh comes to Hilo from BYU-Hawaii, which dropped its program last year. Sheikh was a third-team All-PacWest selection, averaging 15 points and nearly five rebounds a game. Other transfers include Kailani Jones (Allen CC), Alyssa Movchan (Cypress College) and Danielle Dacosta (Sierra College). Freshmen working their way into game action are Sara Shimizu, Malia Lee and Allie Navarette.
 
Remember When?: Back on November 10-11, the Vulcans tipped off the 2017-18 campaign with a pair of games in Fairbanks against the University of Alaska. The visitors won the opener (62-49) but dropped the series finale, 56-50.
 
Short Takes: In the win over the Nanooks, it was a pair of newcomers that led the way for UH Hilo. 6-0 freshman Allie Navarette had 15 points and eight rebounds in her college debut and junior transfer Danielle Dacosta added 14 points and eight boards. Dacosta made all six of her shots from the field, including a pair from three-point range…In the loss to Alaska, the Vulcans went ice cold, shooting just 32 percent from the field and 4-of-22 from three-point range. Safia Sheikh led the Vulcans with 13 points and nine rebounds and Alyssa Movchan was in double figures with 11 points.
 
A Look Back: Last year the Vulcans went 8-12 in the Pacific West Conference and 8-15 overall in 2016-17. UH Hilo had a three-game winning streak in February at home, beating Fresno Pacific, BYU-Hawaii and Dixie State to sit at 8-9 in conference play, but dropped their final three games of the year on the road.
 
Lancers, Eagles and More Eagles: Defending PacWest champion California Baptist is the opponent on Thursday. The Lancers, who advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four last season and went 35-3 overall, will put their 38-game conference-winning streak on the line against the Vulcans. They are 3-4 to begin the season, but won two games last weekend against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA. The Lancers will move to NCAA Division I next year, and they lead the all-time series with the Vulcans, 7-2. Biola will be making its first ever trip to Hilo on Saturday, playing in their first PacWest and NCAA Division II season. The Eagles, who were 23-8 last season at the NAIA level and advanced to the national tournament, are 1-3 to kick off the 2017-18 campaign, with a win over Northwest Nazarene and losses to Cal Poly Pomona, St. Martin's, and Seattle Pacific. Concordia is 2-2 with wins over Westminster (Utah) and Montevallo (Ala.), and losses to Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona. They will play at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade before arriving in Hilo. The Eagles were picked to finish eighth in the pre-season poll, one spot ahead of the Vulcans. The Vulcans have won the only two games in the all-time series between the two, one last year in Hilo and one in 2016 in Irvine.
 
Around the Loop: In pre-season play, co-conference favorite Azusa Pacific has made the biggest splash with a 9-1 start. They are ranked No. 15 in the latest D2SIDA national poll and are third in the West Region. Fellow favorite Point Loma is 5-2 and ranked seventh in the region, while Hawaii Pacific is 3-1 and ranked eighth.
 
Looking ahead: After this three-game homestand, the Vulcans will take some time off for final exams before resuming PacWest play on Saturday, Dec. 16 in Honolulu against Chaminade. They will also play at home on Dec. 19 (Civic) in a non-conference clash against Douglas University of Canada before breaking for the holidays.
 
The Coach: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro enters into his eighth season as the leader of the UHH program in 2017-18. In seven seasons, he has a 60-70 record in the tough Pacific West Conference and is 76-99 overall. Prior to his appointment as the Vulcans leader, he was an assistant with the men's program for four seasons. He led UHH to winning seasons 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.