This Week in Vulcan Women's Basketball
Record: 1-3 (0-1 PWC)

Vulcans head to southland for trio of games                                                                          
Saturday, Dec. 7 @Concordia (2-2 / 0-0 PWC), Irvine, CA, 5:30 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Dec. 10 @Biola (4-2 / 0-0 PWC), La Mirada, CA, 5:30 p.m. PT
Thursday, Dec. 12 @Point Loma (4-2 / 0-0 PWC), San Diego, CA, 5:30 p.m. PT

Eagles X2 and Sea Lions Await: UH Hilo embarks this week on their second longest road trip of the season, traveling to southern California to take on Concordia (Sat.), Biola (Tues.) and Point Loma (Thurs.) in Pacific West Conference play. The Vulcans opened conference play on Monday by hosting defending champion Azusa Pacific, falling to the Cougars 81-57.
 
Glad That is Over: The Vulcans had three straight games against teams ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 20 this past week. That included the No. 4 Cougars, and the Vulcans also 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.

SoCal Trio: The Vulcans will open up their southern California trip in Irvine on Saturday versus Concordia. It will be the PacWest opener for the Eagles, who are 2-2 in non-conference action coming into Saturday's contest. The Eagles won their first two games to open the year (Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State LA) and then dropped their next pair against Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona. 5-7 guard Jasmine Rachal leads the Eagles and is third in the conference with 18 points a game. Concordia was 10-18 last year and were picked sixth in the PacWest preseason poll this year. The Eagles defeated the Vulcans twice last year and they lead the all-time series, 4-2. Biola is next on Tuesday. The Eagles will take a 4-2 overall record into their first PacWest games on Dec. 5 and 7 against Notre Dame de Namur and Dominican before the Vulcans arrive. Biola's two losses were to CS Dominguez Hills and CSULA, and they have victories over Alaska, Cal State San Bernardino, CS Dominguez Hills and Hope International. They also have three exhibitions under their belts against Division I teams. Danita Estorga, 6-2 sophomore, paces the Eagles with 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Biola was 11-17 last year, and is picked to finish seventh in the PacWest this season. UH Hilo won both games last year between the two teams, and the Vulcans lead the all-time series, 3-0. UH Hilo will wrap up the trip in San Diego at Point Loma, who is also 4-2 heading the same games at Dominican and NDNU. The Sea Lions have wins over CS San Bernardino, Alaska, Walla Walla and Concordia (Ore.), with losses dealt to them by Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly Pomona. PLNU has a balanced attacked with four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Onjalise Carley-Hilliard (14.7). Picked to finish third this year in the PacWest, the Sea Lions went 19-11 last year and 17-5 in the PacWest. They won both games versus the Vulcans last season, and they lead the all-time series, 9-2.

What's Next: After the southland trip, the Vulcans return home and will play one non-conference game against Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 22 (1 pm). The Seawolves are currently 7-1 and ranked No. 3 in the west region and 18^th nationally.

A Look at the Numbers: Allie Navarette had a season-best 22 points against Sioux Falls and currently leads the Vulcans with 13 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. She is converting .833 of her free throw attempts. Kim Schmelz had 14 points against Azusa Pacific is just under 10 points a game at 9.8, with Chyann Gabriel (8.8), Mandi Kawaha next (7.8) and Sara Shimizu (7.8) next. Shimizu has nailed 9-of-17 from three-point range, and Gabriel adds 5.8 boards a contest. Kawaha paces the team in the assist category with three per game.

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.

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 Jenna Waki has already been valuable at guard, averaging over 22 minutes a game.

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 (5-0), (2) Cal State San Marcos (7-0), (3) Alaska Anchorage (7-1), (4) Hawaii Pacific (5-1), (5) Humboldt State (6-1), (6) UC San Diego (6-2), (T7) Cal Poly Pomona (6-2), (T7) Western Washington (4-2), (9) Cal State East Bay, (10) Sonoma State (5-2). Additionally, Azusa Pacific is ranked fourth nationally.

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.