Vulcan women host PacWest games to tip off new year
 
Hawai`i Hilo (3-3/1-2 PWC) vs. Notre Dame de Namur (5-7/2-2 PWC), Wednesday, Jan. 3, 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo.
Hawaii Hilo vs. Academy of Art (2-12/1-5 PWC), Friday, Jan. 5, 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo.
Live Stream/Live Stats at www.hiloathletics.com
 
Hilo Headlines: With a little over two weeks of rest under their belts, the Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans return to action this week with a pair of Pacific West Conference home games against the Argonauts and Urban Knights. The squad wrapped up 2017 with a pair of tight games, falling to Chaminade (69-67) and edging Douglas (69-66).
 
Barn Burners: The Vulcans saw an opportunity to move to 2-1 in the PacWest slip away during a 69-67 loss in Honolulu to Chaminade on Dec. 16. UH Hilo led for most of the contest, including holding a 65-62 margin with 1:30 left in the game. But the Silverswords outscored the Vulcans 7-2 over the next 90 seconds to slip away with the win. On Tuesday (Dec. 19) at home against Douglas of Canada, the Vulcans had to hold off the upset-minded Royals late in the game. The Vuls led for the entire contest but the Royals kept battling back, and had a three-point shot at the buzzer blocked that would have forced overtime had it gone in.  
 
Award for Allie: Newcomer Allie Navarette was named the Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Week for her strong efforts against the Silverswords and Royals. Versus Douglas, she had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, and also blocked the potential game-tying three-pointer as the horn sounded. Against Chaminade, the Torrance, Calif. native had 21 points, five rebounds and three steals, giving her 33 points and 16 rebounds in the pair of games.
 
Promos: With two home games this week, Vulcan fans can grab some free Vulcan loot at the Wednesday and Friday games. On Jan. 3, Vulcan cell phone wallets are the giveaway, and on Friday the first 50 fans will receive a Vulcan water flask.
 
By the Numbers: Senior transfer Safia Sheikh (BYU-Hawaii) leads the Vulcans with 14.8 points a game and also paces her team in three-pointers made (22). The 5-10 guard is third in rebounds (6.3). Freshman Allie Navarette is in double figures with 12.0 points a contest and 7.0 rebounds. Sara Shimizu leads the squad with 13 assists in six games.
 
Taking Advantage of Charity: The Vulcans are shooting a shade under 70 percent from the free throw line. Senior Asia Smith is 7-of-7 to lead the way, with Safia Sheikh canning 85 percent (11-for-13) and Allie Navarette (25-for-31) next at 81 percent.
 
PacWest Pace Setters: The Vulcans lead the PacWest in defense, allowing just 60 points per game. They are fourth in the conference in three-point accuracy (.341) and second in three-point percentage defense (.261). Allie Navarette is fifth in free throw percentage at .806 and Safia Sheikh paces the league in three-pointers made per contest at 3.7 (22 total).
 
Missing Piece: Junior guard Kim Schmelz, last year's leading scorer, played in the first two games of the season but has missed the last four because of injury. She is expected to miss the entire season, but can likely recoup her junior season as a medical red-shirt.
 
A Look Back: Last year the Vulcans went 8-12 in the Pacific West Conference and 8-15 overall. 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.
 
Argonaut Article: Notre Dame de Namur comes to Hilo with an even 2-2 mark in the PacWest and they are 5-7 overall. The Argonauts have one of the top scorers in the league in 6-0 junior Jerusha Paine, who averages 16.1 points a game. Paine had 37 points earlier this season against Chico State, and dropped in 25 each against No. 2 Alaska Anchorage and Cal State Monterey Bay. NDNU has conference wins over Fresno Pacific (86-82) and Academy of Art (84-81, OT) and losses to Azusa Pacific (98-60) and Dominican (85-71). The Argonauts won last year's game against the Vulcans (70-58) but UH Hilo leads the all-time series, 12-7.
 
Knight Moves: Academy of Art will first stop at Hawaii Pacific before making their way to Hilo. The Urban Knights are 2-12 and 1-5 in PacWest play, most recently falling to Fresno Pacific (81-72) on Dec. 30 in Fresno. AAU has wins this season over Holy Names (75-39) and Stanislaus State (79-68), and suffered an overtime loss to Notre Dame de Namur (84-81). Pre'Franz Dominic, a 5-11 forward, is averaging a double-double with 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds a contest. She is third in the PacWest in rebounds. Jazzlyn Brewster is fourth in the conference in assists per game with 4.4.  The Urban Knights won last year's contest against the Vulcans, and they lead the all-time series, 8-6.
 
Around the Loop: Dominican is the only unbeaten team in conference play (4-0) and they are 10-2 overall. Azusa Pacific is next (14-2/5-1), followed by California Baptist (6-6/3-1). APU is ranked third in the latest Division II west region media poll, Dominican is fifth, Hawaii Pacific seventh and Point Loma is tenth. 
 
Head Coach David Kaneshiro: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro enters into his eighth season as the leader of the UHH program in 2017-18. In seven-plus seasons, he has a 61-72 record in the tough Pacific West Conference and is 78-101 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.