Competitive through two quarters at Hawaii Pacific, the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team’s second-half shooting read an ugly 19.2 percent.
Competitive through two quarters at Hawaii Pacific, the UH-Hilo women’s basketball team’s second-half shooting read an ugly 19.2 percent.
The Vulcans’ playoff hopes have dipped much lower than that.
UH-Hilo fought back valiantly this season, including for parts of Saturday’s matinee in Honolulu, but it will likely all go for naught after it the absorbed its second consecutive loss, 58-47.
The Vulcans (9-14, 9-9 PacWest) fell two and half games behind Azusa Pacific for the sixth and final league playoff spot, and everything would have to go right from here on in, starting with a win against Cougars on Tuesday at home, for them to reach the postseason.
The Sharks owned the glass Saturday, holding a 55-31 rebounding advantage, particularly in the second half (30-15).
“We did get hurt on the boards,” coach David Kaneshiro said, “maybe with the exception of the second half of the second quarter.”
Hawaii Pacific (16-9, 13-5) never trailed, though the game was much closer than the 72-40 defeat the Vulcans took when the teams matched up in Hilo on Jan. 23.
Lauren Hong made four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points and Kim Schmelz added 12, but like their teammates, neither shot well. Hong was 5 of 14, Schmelz went 4 of 14 and the UH-Hilo shot 27.8 percent and was 4 of 23 on 3-pointers.
“The second half we didn’t rebound consistently and we got some good looks and didn’t hit them,” Kaneshiro said. “Hawaii Pacific is a pretty good team defensively, but we battled.”
A pair of free throws by Schmelz to open the second half made it a 29-28 game, but the Sharks responded by scoring the next 10 points, with Janessa Manzano hitting two free throws and a layup to start the run. UH-Hilo never got the deficit below seven after that.
CeCe Pearl led the Sharks with 18 points and Breanna Mackenzie added 16 points and 14 rebounds. Hawaii Pacific’s dominance on the boards overshadowed the fact that UH-Hilo only committed six turnovers.
In the men’s game, UH-Hilo’s Salim Gloyd took over the final two minutes to knock off Hawaii Pacific 87-84.
Trailing 81-76, Gloyd hit four free throws, a 3-pointer and a lay-up to give the Vulcans an 85-83 lead. After a Shark free throw, Gloyd sealed the deal with a pair of free throws.
Gloyd had another double-double with a 38-point, 10-rebound effort, hitting 11-of-23 shots. Nate Walker scored 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field with two 3-pointers and four free throws. Parker Farris had 18 points with four 3-pointers.