Hilo, Hawai'i– The women's basketball team vanquished the Urban Knights 66-58 with a solid team performance in the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
This was the Vulcans first game in 25 days (after six postponed games) and they didn't miss a beat on the court. The Vulcans are now on a four-game winning streak, improving 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Pacific West Conference while the Urban Knights fell 7-6 and 4-2 in the PacWest.
The Vulcans kept a dominant lead through the first three quarters, collecting their largest lead at 44-32 off a layup by Mindy Kawaha.
Things got interesting for the Vulcans in the fourth quarter where ART U managed to catch up and tie the score up 50-50 with a little less than six minutes remaining in regulation.
The Vulcans fought to hold the lead, but the Urban Knights' Milan Tuttle hit a trey to take her team's first lead of the game (53-52). Both teams went back and forth for points until they were tied on the scoreboard, once again now at 58-58.
The score didn't remain tied for long after Mandi Kawaha stole the ball from Academy of Art. After a quick steal, Mandi Kawaha then made a nice pass over to Heaven Samayoa-Mathis who was able to get down the court and make a layup, giving her team the final lead (60-58).
The Vulcans scored their remaining points off of six good free throws as the Urban Knights continued to foul them, desperately trying to stay in the game. Four of the final free throws were made by Samayoa-Mathis and the last two were sunk in by Mandi Kawaha.
Scoring Leaders…Mandi Kawaha led the Vulcans in scoring with 16 points followed closely by Samayoa-Mathis with 15. Samayoa-Mathis was also an impressive 6-for-6 at the free throw line and 1-for-1 behind the arc.
Board & Steal Leader…Mandi Kawaha also led UHH with eight rebounds and four steals.
Up Next..The Vulcans play next Monday, Jan. 17 at 5pm HST against Dominican. There will be no general admission spectators allowed for this game, but Vulcan fans can support online through live stats, radio, and livestream.
