HILO, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo Women's Basketball team will head into the holiday season with a victory after taking down Bridgewater State, 63-48, Sunday afternoon to close out play in the Big Island Holiday Classic at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
It was a tight contest through the first 10 minutes of play as the Vulcans led, 19-18, heading into the second period. From there, the home team piled on 23 points (.500 from the field) while keeping the Bears to just 30.8 percent shooting to end the first half.
Jeniece Harmon and Keirstyn Agonias led with 18 and 15 points, respectively, as Kaile Cruz followed with 13 points. Both Harmon and Agonias were named to the All-Big Island Classic Team.
Kylie Grassi led BSU with 15 points and was also named to the All-Classic Team.
After taking 12 trips to the free throw line in the first quarter, Bridgewater State would only take nine more attempts (5-9 FT) the rest of the way. Hawai'i Hilo went 4 of 8 at the charity stripe.
2023 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CLASSIC TEAM
Kylie Grassi, Bridgewater State
Keirstyn Agonias, Hawai'i Hilo
Jeniece Harmon, Hawai'i Hilo
Sawyer Lloyd, Angelo State
Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Angelo State
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 3-5 overall record (0-2 Pacific West Conference) while Bridgewater State moved to 4-7 (0-0 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference).
The Vulcans will return to PacWest action and close out the calendar year on the road in Southern California at Biola on Dec. 30. Hawai'i Hilo will continue into 2024 with Concordia University Irvine (Jan. 2), Azusa Pacific (Jan. 4) and Point Loma (Jan. 6).
BIG ISLAND HOLIDAY CLASSIC
Winter 2022 marked the return of the Big Island Holiday Classic, bringing many men's and women's collegiate basketball programs to the Big Island of Hawai'i for competition and fun at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
The event, put on by TItleTown Events (previously Malika Sport Tours) and hosted by the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, is a modern reiteration of the Big Island Invitational Tournament from the 1990s, which featured many NCAA Division I programs with the likes of Oklahoma, Oregon State, Iowa State, Arkansas, Creighton, Purdue, Stanford and UConn among others.
The Big Island Classic moniker was also previously resurrected in winter 2016 when current Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball head coach Kaniela Aiona was at the helm of the Menlo College men's hoops program where they played games at Kealakehe High School on the west side of the island.
SEASON TICKETS
Single-game and season tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
The 2023-24 slate will feature 28 total home contests at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium with a package price of $130 for adults and $65 for seniors (ages 65-plus) and middle/high school students.
Both can be accessed at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
VIDEO STREAM PACKAGES
The Hawai'i Hilo Men's Basketball team will have 14 home games available to be viewed online through our video stream broadcasts in partnership with Out of the Sea Media Arts Inc.
Single-game viewing will be priced at $10 with a season-package offering of $105.
More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/LiveStream.
