By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
For the last six years, UH-Hilo has played the Rainbow Wahine in a basketball exhibition game, and each time the differences between the two are laid bare.
On one hand, the Wahine have won by an average score of 77-48 because they’re usually taller, deeper, and, quite simply, more talented.
On the other hand, they’re a Division I program and enter each battle fully loaded with a maximum allotment of 15 scholarships.
The Vulcans, under coach David Kaneshiro, are a struggling Division II outfit and offer roughly seven out of 10 scholarships.
In 2014, UHH chancellor Donald Straney wrote a column in the Tribune-Herald, pleading the local community to help with sponsorships, raise scholarship funds, and attend games.
The latest get-together on Wednesday night at the Stan Sheriff Center wasn’t exactly pretty. UH, the Goliath, clobbered the Vuls 84-63.
UH senior guard Briana Harris, who was the third option last season, turned into a star with 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point land.
Sophomore forward Leah Salanoa and freshman guard Julissa Tago added double-doubles with 16 points and 11 rebounds and 13 points and 10 boards, respectively.
UHH sophomore guard Kim Schmelz scored 16 points on 7 of 14 shooting, and senior forward Asia Smith had 12 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Wahine were recently picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the Big West preseason coaches poll.
Last season, UH (21-11) won the Big West championship and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.
The Wahine lost to UCLA 66-50 in the first round, drawing an easy observation that the Bruins were more athletic, and it looked that way as they turned the court into a track meet.
In fifth-year UH coach Laura Beeman’s other years, she annually piloted Hawaii to the WNIT, flipping the fortunes of the program.
Before Beeman took over in 2012-13, UH had five losing years, failing to capitalize during FBI (From the Big Island) great Keisha Kanekoa’s tenure.
The 2007 Honokaa graduate, who was the All-State player of the year as a senior, played during the Jim Bolla and Dana Takahara-Dias eras, from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
Kanekoa closed her UH career as the seventh-leading scorer in school history with 1,200 points, third with 378 assists, and 11th in scoring average with 10.3 points per game.
Perhaps most surprising about UH’s return to the NCAA’s Big Dance was that the heartbeat of the team was already gone.
Emotional leader and fundamentally sound forward Shawna-Lei Kuehu, the engine behind Punahou’s three HHSAA state titles (2005, ’06, ’08), graduated after the 2014-15 season.
The ball keeps rolling under Beeman, who coached up and pushed hard enough that the understudies stepped in to fill Kuehu’s big shoes.
Destiny King led UH with 10.4 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per game, and 40 steals. She was a 5-9 guard. Ashleigh Karaitana was second with 9.7 ppg and averaged 3.9 rpg. She was a 6-foot guard.
Their eligibility expired, but Beeman’s bread-and-butter blueprint of crash the glass remains.
Last season was the second time UH led the Big West in defensive and rebounding stats, including field goal percentage defense, 3-point shooting defense, and rebounding.
When Beeman tells her Wahine that defense wins championships, she can point to the program’s first Big West crown.
Meanwhile, the Vuls were picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the PacWest preseason coaches poll.
UHH (10-15) didn’t have anyone named to the preseason team.
Cal Baptist was voted the favorite and Lancer senior guard Cassidy Mihalko, who averaged 19.9 ppg, the player of the year.
In the 21-point loss to the Wahine, the Vuls may have finally found a solution to their lack of ball distribution from the point guard position.
UHH freshman Sharlei Graham-Bernisto, a 2016 Hilo graduate, started, played 34 minutes and had four assists in her collegiate debut.
The 5-3 guard scored nine points on 3 of 6 shooting, including 1 of 3 from long range, and hit 2 of 2 free throws.
Her only negative was a game-high seven turnovers. But Graham-Bernisto lowered the damage with three steals.
Back in her Viking days, she was regarded for her defensive intensity, which should prove helpful for the Vuls, who were worse than their opponents in shooting field goal percentage and rebounding.
Across the stat sheet, the Vuls did nothing better than the Wahine, who led 48-33 at halftime and shot 11 of 25 or 44 percent from long distance. UHH went 4 of 15 or 27 percent from 3-point range.
However, if they meet next year, UHH can always play harder, especially with Graham-Bernisto leading the defensive charge, as good an edge as any for the underfunded David underdogs.
