This Week in Vulcan Women's Basketball
Record: 1-2 (0-0 PWC)

Vulcans Continue Slate vs. Nationally Ranked Foes                                          
Monday, Dec. 2 vs. Azusa Pacific (5-0/ 0-0 PWC), Civic Auditorium, 5 pm

Another Day, Another Powerful Foe: For the third time in a week, the Vulcan women's basketball team will take on a nationally ranked team when No. 4 Azusa Pacific visits on Monday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Start time is 5 pm. Earlier this week, the Vulcans tackled No. 11 Minnesota State Moorhead (L, 61-45) and No. 19 Sioux Falls (L, 70-60).

Oahu Opponents: The Vulcans took on the above-mentioned Cougars and Dragons at the Malika Sports Oahu Thanksgiving Classic and played them both tough. On Tuesday against Sioux Falls, the Vulcans were within a basket (58-56) with 4:58 left before the Dragons pulled away (70-60). Versus Minnesota State Moorhead the next day, one bad quarter did the Vulcans in. They played within a few points of their opponent in the first, third and fourth quarters, but were outscored in the second (17-7) as the Dragons won, 61-45.

Cougar Chatter: Azusa Pacific had a storybook season in 2018-19 with a conference title and a west region championship via a three-pointer at the buzzer. No one expects them to drop off at ball in 2019-20 with all five starters returning, including PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Savanna Hanson and her sister, Daylee. The Cougars are off to a great start at 5-0, having defeated Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona, Seattle Pacific, Western Washington and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Ranked No. 4 in the country and No. 1 in the west region, the Cougars won both games against the Vulcans last year and lead the all-time series, 7-1.

What's Next: After Monday's game with the Cougars, the Vulcans hit the road for one of their most challenging trips of the season. The begin the southern California swing at Concordia (Dec. 7), followed by Biola (Dec. 10) and Point Loma (Dec. 12).

A Look at the Numbers: Allie Navarette had a season-best 22 points against Sioux Falls and currently leads the Vulcans with 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds a game. She is converting .818 of her free throw attempts. Mandi Kawaha had 13 points against the Cougars and is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per contest. She has hit 4-of-10 three-point attempts. Chyann Gabriel adds 7.3 points and 6.7 boards a contest, and Super Senior (5^th year) Kim Schmelz comes in at 8.3 points an outing.

Allie's Headlines: Navarette earned the first PacWest Player of the Week award for her work in UHH's season-opening win over Multnomah. She had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the 52-42 win over the Lions.

Eight is Enough: The Vulcans have played all four of their games thus far (including exhibition) with just eight players dressed out. Head coach David Kaneshiro hopes to get transfers Shauna Bribiescas and Jessica Goodluck back soon.

Paper Trail: The Vulcans, with returning First Team All-PacWest pick Allie Navarette back, along with 2016-17 HM All-PacWest Kim Schmelz returning from injury, look much better on paper than last season. Mandi Kawaha, second on the team in scoring as a freshman, is back to run the point, and returning starter Sara Shimizu can shoot from long range. Mikayla Tablit, who sat out last season with a knee injury, returns to add depth at guard, and inside players Chyann Gabriel and Malia Lee give the Vulcans experience in the paint. Freshman Jenn Waki has already been valuable at guard, and 5-foot-11 junior transfer Shauna Bribiescus averaged nearly 16 points and 8.5 rebounds a game at Pima CC last year.

PacWest Poll: Despite definitely looking better on paper, the Vulcans didn't get much love in the Pacific West Conference Preseason poll, which looked like this. (1) Azusa Pacific, (2) Hawaii Pacific, (3) Point Loma, (4) Fresno Pacific, (5) Dominican, (6) Concordia (7), Biola, (8) Academy of Art, (9) Chaminade, (10) Hawaii Hilo, (11) Holy Names, (12) Notre Dame de Namur.

Rating the West: Looking at the D2SIDA West Region poll released earlier this week, the Vulcans play three of the four teams this year (records are through last weekend). (1) Azusa Pacific (4-0), (2) Alaska Anchorage (5-0), (3) Cal State San Marcos (5-0), (4) Hawaii Pacific (4-0), (5) UC San Diego (4-1), (6) Cal Poly Pomona (5-2), (7) Humboldt State (4-1), (8) Western Washington (4-2), (9) Dominican (3-1), (10) Central Washington (2-2).

Last Year: The Vulcans finished 8-18 overall and 5-17 in the PacWest. Allie Navarette earned First Team All-PacWest honors and Second All-West Region laurels while averaging a school-record 19.8 points and 10.1 rebounds a game.

The Coach: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro begins his tenth season leading the Vulcan program. He previously spent four years as an assistant coach with the men's team at UHH, and has been the women's head coach at Blackburn and Webster. He also was an assistant at Stanislaus State.