The UH-Hilo basketball teams’ seasons ended with a thud over the weekend, but a few days later they found a softer landing spot.
The Vulcans had every team covered during the All-Pacific West Conference selection process.
Sophomore Allie Navarette was named to the All-PacWest first team, selected by the league’s coaches on Wednesday, becoming just the third Vulcan named to the first team.
Sheila Azevedo was a three-time first-team selection (2007-09) and Hilary Hurley was a two-time pick (2011-12).
On the men’s side, seniors Larry Bush and James Griffin were named to the All-PacWest second and third teams, respectively. The last UHH selection was Parker Farris on the second team in 2016-17.
“I am very happy and proud of both of them,” Vulcans coach GE Coleman said. “They brought a different mentality to our program that we haven’t had here. They are great players but even better people who lead by example.”
The Vuls missed out on a chance to reach their first conference tournament on the final day of the regular season Saturday.
The women’s team was eliminated from postseason consideration much earlier, but that didn’t stop Navarette from turning in a historic season.
The 6-foot forward broke seven school records, including some of her own, averaging . She is UHH’s single-season record holder for points (516), scoring average (19.8) and rebounds (263), along with field goals (162), field goal attempts (410), free throws (170) and free throw attempts (214).
While Navarette became a double-double machine – she ended the season with nine in row and 17 in all – coach David Kaneshiro also said she improved defensively.
“I challenged her as much as anyone on the team,” Kaneshiro said.
She he scored a career-high 32 points against Academy of Art, and also had 31 (Chaminade) and 30 against conference champ Azusa Pacific. Navarette had 17 double-doubles on the year, including nine in a row to finish her sophomore campaign. She tied the UH Hilo single-game record for rebounds in a game with 19 against Holy Names.
As a freshman, Navarette was an honorable mention selection.
“Allie had a really great year, and it is nice to see the conference coaches reward her for it,” Kaneshiro said.
Bush, a 6-foot-2 left-handed guard, got stronger as the year went on. He had 27 points against conference champion Point Loma and 26 at second-place Concordia, earning him PacWest Player of the Year honors. He finished the season with a 15.5 scoring average and ranked fourth in the PacWest in steals with 49. He shot 50 percent from the field, made 42 three-pointers and shot 72 percent from the free throw line.
Griffin, a 6-foot-5 guard, led the Vulcans with a 15.8 scoring average and in three-pointers made with 51. He also averaged five rebounds a game, and worked through a severe ankle injury that cost him three games, rehab time and adjustments to return to playing shape. He had a season-high 28 points against Academy of Art (hitting 6-of-9 trey attempts) and put up 25 against Point Loma.
Both Bush and Griffin were senior transfers into the Vulcan program and were also former NCAA Division I players. Bush (Calabasas, Calif.) played at Moorpark College and UNLV, and then sat out a year before coming to Hilo. Griffin (Brisbane, Australia) began his career at Marist College before playing two seasons at West Liberty.
The league’s player of the year was Point Loma’s Daulton Hommes.
