University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s coach David Kaneshiro saw enough glimpses of good basketball to come away encouraged by his team’s performance
University of Hawaii at Hilo women’s coach David Kaneshiro saw enough glimpses of good basketball to come away encouraged by his team’s performance
But a pair of powerful half-opening spurts produced by the University of Hawaii could only leave him impressed.
“This is the most athletic Manoa team that we’ve played against,” Kaneshiro said Wednesday night after the Wahine coasted to a 90-53 exhibition victory in Honolulu.
Morgan Mason scored 15 points with eight rebounds as the Rainbow Wahine dominated the glass and confounded the Vulcans defensively. The Wahine held a 48-25 rebounding edge and forced 25 turnovers.
The Vulcans turned the ball over on five of their first six possessions in falling behind 15-0.
The Wahine’s edge inside translated to a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint.
“The times we got beat physically, it was not because a lack of effort,” Kaneshiro said.
Just when the Vulcans began to play on even terms and trailed 45-27 at halftime, the Wahine opened the second half with a 13-0 run.
“Give Manoa a lot of credit,” Kaneshiro said. “They played good defensively and they put good defensive pressure on the ball.”
Senior Kirstie Williams scored 11 points for the Vulcans, making all three of her 3-pointers. Senior McKenzie Mangino added 10 points and five rebounds, and senior Haley Reynolds had seven points.
Kaneshiro looked forward to the nearly three weeks of practice the Vulcans have before they open the regular season at home Nov. 19 against Minot University.
“I was proud of the effort and that we kept competing,” Kaneshiro said. “Now we’ve got to continue to build the effort and improve the execution.”