HILO, Hawai`i—A win is a win, but some feel better than others.
UH Hilo's 63-51 victory over Fresno Pacific on Thursday night at the Civic Auditorium felt especially sweet for the Vulcan women's basketball team. With the win, the Vulcans snapped a seven-game losing streak and picked up their first Pacific West Conference triumph at the same time.
The Vulcans win came at the expense of a good Fresno Pacific team, who fell to 6-6 on the year and to 3-3 in conference play. UHH is now 2-7 on the year and 1-4 in the PacWest.
Allie Navarette led the Vulcans with 25 points, hitting 9-of-11 free throws. She also became UH Hilo's all-time leading rebounder with her second board of the night in the third quarter, now unofficially with 512 in her career.
Mandi Kawaha and
Kim Schmelz added 13 points each. Kawaha also had five assists and eight rebounds.
Bayli McClard led the Sunbirds with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Sunbirds came out of the gates with back-to-back conventional three-point plays to take a 6-0 lead. They pushed that margin to 12-4 on a basket by Cassie Pisik, but the Vulcans began a comeback shortly thereafter.
UH Hilo went on a 12-1 run, taking the lead on a three-pointer by Schmelz and adding to it on free throws by
Sara Shimizu to lead at the end of the first quarter, 16-13.
The pace slowed in the second quarter and FPU regained the lead on a pair of baskets by Jessica Malazarte. Again, the Vulcans clawed back, this time on a trey by Kawaha and a turnaround jumper from Schmelz to regain the lead. The Vulcans took a one-point lead into the halftime locker room (27-26) on the strength of 11 points from Navarette and cold Sunbird shooting from three-point range (0-for-9).
Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter, with the Vulcans closing the period on a 6-0 run to take a 43-38 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Navarette scored UH Hilo's first six points of the fourth period and they would never trail. The Sunbirds, who would hit only 2-of-22 three-pointers all night, couldn't play catch up without that weapon. The Vulcans then converted free throws to put the game out of reach, with much of that damage done by Navarette and Kawaha.
"It was really a good team win," said head coach
David Kaneshiro after the game. "We have been close many times in the last month and it was nice to get over the hump tonight. The girls have worked really hard and it is nice to see them rewarded."
The Vulcans will play game two of a five contest homestand on Saturday night (5 pm), taking on PacWest lead Point Loma at the Civic Auditorium.
