2018-19 Hawaii Hilo Women's Basketball Season in Review
Overall Record: 8-18       PWC Record: 5-17 (10^th)

Short Bench, Valiant Efforts Hallmarks of Vulcan Season: Forced to play most of the season with only eight players suited up, the 2018-19 UH Hilo basketball team fought through adversity to an 8-18 record. Due to injuries, the Vulcans had just eight players in uniform for every game in the second half of the season.

40 Minutes: That short bench certainly contributed to UH Hilo's ability to play at a perfect pace for a full 40 minutes. The Vulcans would play great basketball in spurts, whether it be for a quarter, a half, or three quarters—but very often not for the full 40 minutes. Cases in point: UHH had a 20-16 lead at the end of the first half against eventual PacWest and NCAA West Region champ Azusa Pacific. They played regional participant Domincan even for three quarters before succumbing, and they trailed by just four points to regional finalist Alaska Anchorage at halftime.

Tough Customers: As it turns out in 2018-19, the Vulcans played in the toughest conference in the west region. Three of the eight teams that qualified for the west regional tournament were from the Pacific West Conference (Azusa Pacific, Hawaii Pacific and Dominican), and APU was the winner, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Taking Advantage of Charity: The Vulcans were tough at the free throw line all year, converting 70 percent of their free throw opportunities, fourth best in the 14-team Pacific West Conference. Allie Navarette was fifth in the PWC in that same category, nailing .794 of her shots.

Allie's Amazing Sophomore Year: After a terrific freshman season, Allie Navarette did not fall victim to any sort of sophomore jinx. In fact, the 6-foot inside player rewrote most of the UH Hilo single-season record book, and made her mark in the single-game and career categories as well. Here is a look at MOST of her new record book entries.

• Most points scored in a season (526). Previous was her's as a freshman, 383.
• Highest scoring average (19.8). Previous was Allie's as a freshman, 16.7
• Number of field goals made (162) Previous—Sheila Azevedo (137) in 2006-07.
• Number of free throws made (170). Previous was Allie as a freshman, 123.
• Number of rebounds in a season (263), previous by Sheila Azevedo (217) in 2006-07.

More Allie: Additionally, she scored 30 points or better three times, and tied the single-game rebound record with 19 against Holy Names (shared with Hillary Hurley). She had 17 double-doubles. In just two seasons, she has already listed her name in a number of UHH career categories, including the following (with record to chase).

• Points: 899—Second (First: Sheila Azevedo—978)
• Scoring Average: 18.4—First
• Free Throws Made: 293—First
• Rebounds: 444—Second (First: Sheila Azevedo--507)
• Blocked Shot: 43—Fifth (First: Hillary Hurley and Azevedo--49)

More Record Book: Senior guard Alyssa Movchan made her mark with the seventh most three-pointers made in a season (45), and also now has the fifth best three-point percentage in a year (.360). Movchan  hits five treys against St. Martin's, as did Sara Shimizu, the third highest total for a game in Vulcan history. Mandi Kawaha had 99 assists on the year, fourth best all-time.

PacWest Stat Board: Navarette, as mentioned earlier, finished fourth in the PacWest in free throw percentage (.794.). She was also first in rebounds (10.1), third in scoring (19.8), and seventh in field goal percentage (.395). Freshman Mandi Kawaha was third in assists (3.8).

All-Everything: Allie Navarette was named to the All-PacWest Conference First Team, and was also tabbed to the D2CCA All-West Region Second Team. She is the first Vulcan to be named to an all-region team.

Says Head Coach Dave Kaneshiro: "Allie had another really good year. For me as a coach, it is very gratifying because she takes instruction well and is always trying to improve. It is nice to see her get recognition for all of her hard work."

Senior Trio: The Vulcans lose three players to graduation in Alyssa Movchan, Patience Taylor and Amber Vaughn. Taylor, a four-year Vulcan, finished with 325 career rebounds, fifth all-time at UHH. Movchan was third on the team in scoring (8.4) and led the Vulcans in three-pointers made (45) and percentage (.360). Vaughn played a valuable role coming off the bench.

In the Middle: In addition to Navarette and Taylor (6.5 ppg, 3,9 reb.), the Vulcans had key performances inside from Chyann Gabriel (4.9 ppg, 4.1 reb.) and Malia Lee (4 reb. a game). Gabriel twice had eight rebounds in a game and Lee hit for a career-high 11 points against Dominican and just missed a double-double vs. APU with nine points and 11 boards.

Youth with a Mission: Freshman point guard Mandi Kawaha had an outstanding rookie year, finishing second on the Vulcans in scoring (9.2), first in assists (99) and first in steals (38). She had a career-high 22 points against Fresno Pacific and hit four three-pointers against Point Loma. She had six assists in four different games. Fellow freshman Maddie Beck was in double figures five times and had seven rebounds twice—all off the bench. Sophomore guard Sara Shimizu had a career-high 17 points against NDNU, hitting five treys. She also had five three-pointers versus NDNU.

They're back!!: The Vulcans return five players with significant playing experience (Navarette, Kawaha, Shimizu, Beck and Lee) and also look forward to the return of former honorable mention All-PacWest pick Kim Schmelz and Mikayla Tablit, guards who missed the season with knee injuries.

Head Coach: Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro is 88-132 after nine seasons as the leader of the UHH program. Prior to his appointment as the Vulcans head coach, he was an assistant with the men's program for four seasons. He led UHH to winning campaigns in 2011-12 (14-12) and 2012-13 (13-11). 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.

Coaches Comments: "I was really proud of our group, this was a fun bunch to coach. It is hard to play with just eight in uniform, especially difficult to get as much done as you want to in practice. We played some great basketball in stretches, but I think we wore down late in the year, and our numbers had something to do with that. But they really competed and battled, I was very proud of them for that."

Links to Record books….
Team Records
Single Season Top 10
Career Top 10
All-Time Award Winners
Single Game Top 10
All-Time Series History