It takes two to tangle, which hasn’t been the case for the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team after six straight postponements.
The Vulcans (5-2, 2-1 PacWest) are scheduled to play Academy of Art (7-5, 4-1) at 5 p.m. Thursday at Hilo Civic, where a no fan policy is in place for the general public.
UHH’s fans on its pass list are allowed to attend but are required to wear their masks at all times, unless eating or drinking. Fans who do not wear face masks are subject to ejection.
The Urban Knights have had their own issues with COVID-19 with three games postponed.
UHH was prepared to play Biola on Monday, but a late email on Sunday called for the postponement. No makeup date has been determined.
The No. 2 UHH men (8-4, 4-1) play No. 1 AAU (9-5, 5-1) at 7:30 p.m. after the women’s game. The Vulcan men have had four postponements.
In a 97-89 win over Biola on Monday, Darren Williams scored 28 points to lead the Vulcans to victory before 28 fans on UHH’s pass list, including three who wore their masks below their noses.
For the women, the Vulcans are fourth in the PacWest standings while the Urban Knights are second, behind Azusa Pacific (9-1, 5-0). Biola (8-4, 4-2) is third.
The Vulcans will have reinforcements with the return of 5-foot-11 junior forward Bree Olson and 5-9 freshman forward Noelle Sua-Godinet, a Kamehameha-Kapalama graduate.
They’ll join a lineup that features starters Mandi Kawaha (18.9 point per game), Sara Shimizu (13.3 ppg), Heaven Samayoa-Mathis (9.7 ppg), and Jenna Waki (8.3 ppg) at guard, and Nikki Miller (11.3 ppg and 11.6 rebounds per game) at center, and backups Kayla Revelo (4.4 ppg and 4.49 rpg) at forward, and Mindy Kawaha (5.4 ppg) at guard.
“They’re here. They came in to practice after we were done,” UHH coach David Kaneshiro said. “These days. You never know until tipoff. We’r excited to get back out on the court for a game.”
The only shocking postponement was the Biola game because that announcement came the day before, Kaneshiro noted.
“After the break, we needed the extra practices,” he said. “You build up that competitive spirit, and you don’t play for a while. So we need a game to get back in the swing of things.”
The Urban Knights have had four straight losing seasons. But Joy Krupa, who averages 11.3 ppg, has the team siting in second place in the standings.
“They’ve been really good this year. That’s all we talked about,” Kaneshiro said. “They’re talented, can shoot from the outside and get to the basket. They’re a great rebounding team, and one of the best in the league. It’s a really big challenge for us. It’s been a while, so we’re ready to go.”