IRVINE, Calif.—Temperatures lately in southern California have been unseasonably wet and cool, but the weather was warm enough inside for host Concordia during a 72-42 women's basketball win over Hawai`i Hilo on Saturday night at the CU Arena.
The Eagles scored the first eight points of the game and raced out to a 19-2 lead before the Vulcans knew what hit them during the Pacific West Conference opener for the home team. Concordia is now 3-2 overall (1-0 in conference play), while the Vulcans fell to 1-4 on the year and 0-2 in the PacWest.
Kim Schmelz led the Vulcans with 11 points.
Sara Shimizu added nine, and
Allie Navarette had eight points and eight rebounds.
Concordia drained 10-of-24 three-point attempts, including 5-of-5 from Katie Timmerman. She finished with 17 points, teammate Sierra Clark had 16 (4-of-6 from three) and Jasmine Rachel led CUI with 18 points.
The Eagles came out on fire, with Timmerman leading the way. The sophomore guard buried three treys to help her team to a 13-2 lead just a little over four minutes into the contest. CUI would lead 19-2 before the Vulcans cooled the run slightly with a Shimizu three-pointer (19-5), but the Eagles would hit two more baskets to take a 23-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Timmerman hit another three early in the second quarter, and shortly thereafter the Eagles led 33-7. The Vulcans played even with their hosts after that until the end of the half, with Schmelz draining a trio of three's. The score at the break was 46-17.
The Vulcans were still cold in the third quarter (57-25) before warming up a bit in the fourth. The two teams played almost evenly in the fourth (17-15 UHH) before the Eagles closed out the 72-42 final.
It was UH Hilo's lowest point total of the year, equaling their lowest output from last year in a loss at Fresno Pacific. The Vulcans shot 30 percent from the field and were out-rebounded, 40-29.
The Vulcans continue their three-game southern California trip with a Tuesday match-up at Biola. Start time in La Mirada will be 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.
