Allie Navarette pitched in offensively and on the boards, and when it mattered most she got it done defensively.
The UH-Hilo freshman blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer Tuesday night after producing a double-double, and the Vulcans beat Douglas College 69-66 at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Junior transfer Alyssa Movchan finished with a season-high 14 points for the Vulcans, who will take a 3-3 mark to 2018 after surviving a second-half scare from the Spartans of Canada, who were playing an exhibition game.
Navarette produced 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, Safia Sheikh added 12 for the Vulcans and freshman guard Sara Shimizu had eight points and four assists.
After watching a 12-point halftime lead disappear, Movchan broke a 46-46 tie with a jumper late in the third quarter, and she made two baskets, one a 3-pointer, and Shimizu added a jumper to push the lead back to 10.
Douglas fought back again and cut the defect to 67-66 with just more than a minute left, but Navarette answered with a layup inside, grabbed a rebound on a 3-pointer on the Spartans’ next possession and – after Douglas inbounded the ball with seven seconds left after UHH missed two free throws – she denied Simran Bir’s attempt to send the game to overtime.
Sheikh made four 3-pointers as UH-Hilo shot 10 of 25 from long range and 45.2 percent overall. The Vulcans battled the taller Spartans to a draw (35-35) on the boards.
Rachel Beauchamp led the way with Douglas 21 points and nine rebounds for Douglas, which shot 43.6 percent.
Vulcans leading returning scorer Kim Schmelz missed her fourth consecutive game with a knee injury.
UH-Hilo takes a week off during the Division II-mandated dead period and faces Notre Dame de Namur on Jan. 3.