HILO, Hawai`i—In a game of back and forth momentum runs, the Hawai`i Hilo women's basketball team had the last blitz to defeat Multnomah University, 52-42 on Friday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

With the win, UH Hilo begins the year 1-0, while Multnomah falls to 1-2. The two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm at the Civic, in what will serve as an exhibition game for the Vulcans.

Allie Navarette led the Vulcans with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Kim Schmelz, playing her first game in over two years, had 11 points. Erykah Campbell led the Lions with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Schmelz, who spent two years rehabbing an injured knee, came off the bench in the first quarter and promptly drained a long three-pointer to give the Vulcans a 7-6 lead. A Chyann Gabriel put back at the buzzer gave UHH a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Multnomah began the second quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 lead. The Vulcans would then answer with a 11-0 blitz, capped by a Malia Lee basket to lead 27-21. Navarette scored her first basket of the night with 1:25 left in the quarter to help the Vulcans take a 32-28 lead into the halftime locker room.

Sara Shimizu, who hit a trio of treys in the first half, led all scorers with nine points.

Navarette and the Vulcans were hot to start the second half. The 6-foot junior scored inside and then converted four free throws, and with Mandi Kawaha's basket, it was an 8-0 UHH run (40-28). But momentum swings being the new normal, the Lions closed the quarter on a 11-0 run to make it 40-37 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Coming out the quarter break, UH Hilo went on another 8-0 run , this time with Schmelz leading the way. The 5-9 guard hit two shots, then made a steal and went coast to coast and converted the lay-in to make the count 48-37 just two minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Lions didn't have another run in them, scoring only five points in the entire fourth quarter. The Vulcans sealed the game with just under a minute to play when Kawaha dribbled down the shot clock and then dumped off a pretty pass to Gabriel, who banked it off the glass to account for the 52-42 final.

Neither team shot well from the field, with Multnomah at 22 percent and UH Hilo at 29. UHH forced the Lions (NAIA school from Portland) into 17 turnovers, and the Vulcans only had eight themselves. The home team held a 38-34 rebound advantage as well.