UH Hilo head women's basketball coach David Kaneshiro has some questions about his 2021-22 Vulcan team, but at least he will be able to work on the puzzle from the comfort of Hilo and his own home court.

The Vulcans open the season with seven straight home contests, beginning on Friday (Nov. 19) against Multnomah (1 pm). The Vulcans will play the Lions again on Saturday afternoon (same time) at the Vulcan Gymnasium.

Next week, UH Hilo host Dakota Wesleyan (Nov. 23), followed by Pacific West Conference openers with Concordia (Dec. 3), Point Loma (Dec. 6), Hawaii Pacific (Dec. 12) and D-II power Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 19. UH Hilo won't take a mainland trip until January 22, their first since the winter of 2020. In all, they will play 12 of their first 14 games at home, with a pair of games on Oahu the lone short trip.

"We were fortunate to get the four non-conference games this season," said Kaneshiro.  "Starting Pacwest play with three home games does give us a good stretch to start the season.  I know our players are always excited to play in front of their family and friends but I'm sure there will be a little extra added this year after going all last year with no fans.  Our team is excited to start the season and doing it at home adds even more anticipation and excitement.  Hopefully, we can use that energy to get off to a good start this season."

Kaneshiro welcomes back three starters from his Spring 2021 team (Mandi Kawaha, Sara Shimizu and Jenna Waki), along with sixth woman Bree Olson. But for the first time in five seasons, he doesn't have Kim Schmelz, one of the most decorated players in UHH history, and he lost guard Mikayla Tablit to a season-ending injury. Also graduated is last year's leading rebounder, Malia Lee. 

Point guard Kawaha was an All-Hawaii Pod selection last year when the Vulcans went 6-6 with six victories over Chaminade and six losses to nationally ranked Hawaii Pacific. The 5-2 guard averaged 12 points a game and led the Vulcans with just over four assists a contest. Olson came of the bench to add 7.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, while Shimizu averaged seven points and the long-range bomber paced the team with 15 treys made. 

Jenna Waki returns (6.8 ppg), as does Mindy Kawaha, Sierra Cavaletto, Kayla Revelo and Kenedi Walters, all of whom earned playing time last spring.

"I can't really call us a veteran team, although Sara, Mandi, and Jenna have good experience," Kaneshiro said.  "Although last year was a shortened season, Mindy and Bree gained some valuable experience.  Those players have set a good example in our early season practices with their effort and execution.  They've also done a good job of trying to help some of our new players or those who haven't played as much."  

Noelle Sua-Godinet and Erica Ingram were on campus as redshirts last season. Senior Nikki Miller joins the squad after averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds at Notre Dame de Namur in 2019-20. Freshman Heaven Samayoa-Mathis (Sacramento HS) could be an impact player, averaging 24 points a game as a senior.

"We'll definitely need contributions from them," the 12th-year coach added .  "We'll be looking to some returners who didn't get as many minutes last year; like Kayla, Sierra, and Kenedi.  Noelle and Erica were on campus last year but didn't get to practice so they are going through things for the first time just like our new players, Nikki and Heaven.  As a team, we have a lot of things to learn and improve on but we've made good progress so far.  And our experienced players have helped a lot in that process.

"Kayla, Sierra, and Kenedi are all improved from last year.  Noelle has shown to be a quick learner and has done a good job.  Erica has missed some practice time due to injury but hopefully we can get her back on the court soon.  Heaven and Nikki have both done a good job so far.  Both work hard and are very coachable.  They have both shown a lot of improvement since the start of practice.  All of those players bring something a little different to our team so hopefully we'll get contributions from all of them during the year."

While UH Hilo's first two games are on campus at Vulcan Gymnasium, the Vulcans will play all of their home contests at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium after this weekend. Fans are allowed this season, go to hiloathletics.com for the protocol. A video stream is also available on the Vulcan website.