HILO, Hawai'i-- The UH HIlo women's basketball team squared off against Concordia University Irvine for their conference opener.

The Eagles (5-3, 2-1 PacWest) flew in and picked up a 70-55 win over the Vulcans (2-2, 0-1 PacWest) in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. 

The Eagles started the first quarter off strong, scoring nine consecutive points. The Vulcans closed the gap as close as 14-9 before CUI's Michaela VanderKlugt scored a three that ended the first quarter. 

The Red and Black's Jenna Waki secured the first basket of the second quarter as the Vulcans looked to take the lead. Mandi Kawaha hit a three with 6:14 left on the clock which closed the Vulcans gap to 24-17. 

The Eagles managed to break away in the third quarter where they got their largest lead of the game. It was CUI's Jasmine Rachal who hit the three that gave the Eagles the 50-35 lead. 

In the final quarter the Green and Gold grabbed the first basket and held a steady 10-point lead for the remainder of the game. At 4:03 Nikki Miller grabbed a steal at the back half of the court that she fed to Sara Shimizu who hit a jumper which brought the score to 60-48. 

UHH made an admirable effort but were unable to bridge the gap resulting in CUI's 70-55 victory. The Vulcans will play next on Monday, Dec. 6 at 5pm HT against Point Loma. 

The Vulcans leading scorer of the night was Kawaha with 14 points, followed by Shimizu with 11, and Waki and Miller with nine apiece. Miller and Shimizu both posted five boards in the contest. 
 

To view the women's basketball schedule, CLICK HERE.