Mandi Kawaha has played basketball all her life and ranks the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team’s 73-50 upset over No. 16 Hawaii Pacific as No. 2 on her all-time list on Sunday before 211 fans at Hilo Civic.
“It would be No. 1 if they had Amy Baum,” said Kawaha, who had her typical productive game with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting with five assists and three turnovers.
There’s something fishy going on with the Sharks (4-4, 1-2 PacWest), who didn’t have Baum, the preseason player of the year, nor coach Reid Takatsuka on the bench.
“I have no clue where he is,” an HPU assistant said. “Amy didn’t make the trip because of a nagging injury.”
The Vulcans (4-2, 2-1) are 2-28 all-time against the Sharks and last beat them in 2012.
UHH is tied for second in the PacWest standings behind Azusa Pacific (7-1, 3-0) and Dominican (5-4, 2-0). HPU, picked No. 2 in the preseason poll, is fourth.
UHH simply played much better than the direction-less Sharks. The Vulcans outshot them, 40% to 24%, outscored them in every quarter and outrebounded them 43-41.
Nikki Miller used her soft touch around the rim for 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, Sara Shimizu added 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting, Heaven Samayoa-Mathis had nine points, and Mindy Kawaha, who returned from a knee injury, scored eight points off the bench.
Avery Cargill scored 12 points, and Tavia Rowell had 10 points for the Sharks, who trailed 39-25 at halftime.
“We’re definitely improving, and I’m happy about that,” UHH coach David Kaneshiro said. “I’m happy for the players because they worked really hard and have come in with an attitude to get better every day.
“We had balanced scoring and that comes from the ball movement and sharing the ball and people passing up average shots to get better ones. We’re still learning. This is game six for us.”
UHH had 10 assists and 12 turnovers but outscored HPU in fast-break points, 8-4, and points off turnover, 15-13. The butterfinger ball-handling Sharks had five assists and 15 turnovers.
The Vulcans battled the Sharks tough on the boards, got back in transition defense and didn’t let HPU get on any momentum-swinging scoring runs.
“We’re learning to play with each other, and I’m happy with the improvement,” Kaneshiro said.
With under a minute left in the first half, Miller scored on a putback for 37-22 lead and scored again when Kawaha fed her under the basket with two seconds remaining for a 39-25 halftime cushion.
In the third quarter, Kawaha blitzed a seam and dropped a layup, followed by a jumper, and Jenna Waki, scored on a layup for a 45-30 lead.
Shimizu hit 3 of 4 free throws to take a 57-36 lead into the final 10 minutes.
After Miller scored on a putback, Shimizu, a senior guard from Sacramento, Calif., hit 1 of 2 free throws on a technical fouls for a 62-38 cushion with 8:10 remaining.
The Sharks played without any rhythm and direction and couldn’t hit consecutive baskets in the fourth quarter.
Miller scored on another putback, and Kawaha scored again for a 64-42 cushion with 6:44 leads to dash all hope for HPU, which will lose its No. 16 national ranking and No. 5 spot in the West Region poll.
As for Kawaha, she may play for the Vulcans, but the junior guard will forever be a Hilo High Viking in her heart.
“My No. 1 win goes back to P&R against the Konawaena team,” Kawaha said. “We didn’t beat them in high school.”
It was team-photo autograph day for the fans, who had a chance to get a free team photo and have it signed by every member of the Vulcans.
It’ll be a good reminder as their No. 1 memory of the Vulcans, who don’t often take down Goliath, but did more than enough to get a stunning upset.