Women's Basketball Weekly
Hawai`i Hilo Overall Record: 5-11     Hawai`i Hilo PacWest Record: 2-10
 
Home for Four next for Vulcan hoopsters                                                               
Friday, Feb. 1 vs. Azusa Pacific (16-3/13-0 PWC), 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic, Hilo
Monday, Feb. 4 vs. Biola (8-10/6-6 PWC), 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen Civic, Hilo
Friday, Feb. 8 vs. Academy of Art (3-13/2-11 PWC), 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen, Hilo
Sunday, Feb. 10 vs. Dominican (14-3/11-2 PWC), 5 p.m., Afook-Chinen, Hilo
Live Stream/Live Stats at www.hiloathletics.com

Free, Free, Free!!: From here on and forever more, all UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College students will receive free admission to all Vulcan home events. Just show your student ID, and you are in!! Same is true for faculty and staff.
 
Watch, Listen: All Vulcan home women's basketball games are available via video stream (and Live Stats). That includes improved coverage with audio play-by-play, through Out of the Sea Media on the Vulcan website.
 
Hilo Headlines: The Vulcans went long-range on the road to pick up their first win of the year as visitors, and also snapped an eight-game skid in the process with a 49-47 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Sunday. They were also clipped by just four points against Holy Names (59-55), and now head into four games at home over a two-week span.
 
Big Shots to Visit: First-place Azusa Pacific is the first visitor of four this coming Friday, winners of 13-straight games heading into a Monday night encounter with Chaminade. The Vulcans will also entertain third-place Dominican to wrap up this homestand (Feb. 10), with Biola (Feb. 4) and Academy of Art (Feb. 8) in between.
 
Sara's Shots Save Hilo: Sophomore guard Sara Shimizu broke out of a mini shooting slump in a big way, knocking down five three-pointers against NDNU. She scored 15 of her career-high 17 points from behind the arch, missing only three long-range shots. She scored the final six points of the game against the Argonauts to help ensure the victory. She also had two assists, two steals and nailed both free throw attempts. Prior to the outburst, the team's second-leading three-pointer shooter had hit just two of her last ten trey attempts.
 
Allie's Averages: Sophomore post Allie Navarette has scored in double figures every game except one (9 at Dominican), including posting a career-high 27 points against Chaminade and Fresno Pacific. She has eight double-doubles on the year, including the latest last Thursday against Holy Names (21/13). The Torrance, Calif. native ranks third in the PacWest in scoring (18.8) with an even 300 points, and leads the league in rebounding (9.8). Additionally, she is eighth in the PWC in field goal percentage (.399), is fifth in free throw accuracy (.786), and ninth in blocked shots (0.9).
 
By the Numbers: Freshman Mandi Kawaha is second in scoring at 9.1 and leads the Vulcans in assists with 55…Alyssa Movchan averages 8.4 points and leads her team from three-point range with 28 (.346)…Senior Patience Taylor had a career-high 15 points against Concordia and is averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 boards. She just missed a double-double against NDNU with eight points and nine rebounds.
 
Eight is Enough: The Vulcans still aren't close to full strength and won't be for the rest of the year, with guards Kim Schmelz, Mikayla Tablit and post Chyann Gabriel sidelined. Head Coach Dave Kaneshiro has just eight players in uniform.
 
Around the Loop: Conference favorite Azusa Pacific is still unbeaten in PacWest play at 13-0 (16-3 overall) at the beginning of the week, with defending champion Hawaii Pacific now in second place at 11-1 (13-5 on the year). Half a game back of the Sharks is Dominican (11-2). The Cougars have won 13 games in a row, and HPU has won six straight.
 
Regional Rankings: The unofficial D2SIDA West Region rankings for Jan. 28 look like this: (1) UC San Diego 17-0, (2) Northwest Nazarene 17-1, (3) Alaska Anchorage 17-1, (4) Cal Poly Pomona 16-2, (5) Azusa Pacific 16-3, (6) Central Washington 11-5, (T-7) Chico State 12-5, (T7) Dominican 14-3, (9) Simon Fraser 11-6, (T10) Humboldt State 11-6, (T10) Cal Sate San Marcos 10-7.

Cougar Clips: Azusa Pacific is on a roll heading into their three-game trip to Hawaii. They kept their 13-game win streak alive with a narrow 81-80 win over Fresno Pacific on Jan. 24, and are now ranked fifth in the NCAA west region. Savanna Hanson leads a balanced Cougar attack with 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. APU won the lone game played between the two teams last year, and the Cougars lead the all-time series, 5-1.
 
Biola Bits: Second-year PacWest member Biola is an even 6-6 in conference play heading into three games on the islands that begins with a Jan. 31 game at Chaminade. The Eagles have dropped three of their last four games, but those three losses were to squads at the top of the standings in APU, Fresno Pacific and Dominican. Biola's balanced attack features four players averaging eight points a game or better, but only one in double figures—6-0 forward Jazz Benn at 11.2. The Vulcans won the lone game played between the two teams last year, the only time the teams have squared off.
 
Knight Notes: The Vulcans host Academy of Art on Feb. 8, a rematch between two teams that just met on Jan. 4—a 64-52 win for the Urban Knights, one of two conference victories for them to date. AAU will play twice before arriving in Hilo. Brianna Cates is fourth in the PacWest in scoring at 16.8 points per game, and Lily Perkins had 20 points and six rebounds when the two met earlier this year in San Francisco. The all-time series between the Vulcans and Urban Knights is now tied at 8-8.
 
Penguin Power: Dominican is in the thick of the PacWest title race in third place (11-2) and is now tied for seventh in the west region rankings. They had a six-game win streak snapped by red-hot Point Loma (82-74) on Jan. 24, but obviously have had few setbacks this season with a 14-3 overall record. All-everything Natalie Diaz leads the conference in scoring at 25.9 points per game, and she had 30 in Dominican's 94-46 win over the Vulcans in San Rafael on Dec. 31. The Penguins now lead the all-time series between the two teams, 12-7.
 
A Look Back: The Vulcans suffered through an injury-plagued year to finish 7-16 overall and 5-15 in the Pacific West Conference.
 
PacWest Prognosticators: The PacWest coaches predicted Azusa Pacific to win the conference this year, with defending champ Hawai`i Pacific slated to take second. The Vulcans clocked in at ninth.
 
Head Coach David Kaneshiro: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro enters into his ninth season as the leader of the UHH program in 2018-19. 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.