It might be time to get ready to say “ranked” and “UHH women’s basketball team” in the same sentence.
Mandi and Mindy Kawaha put the finishing touches on the Vulcans’ latest invigorating performance, and when they arrived together for a postgame interview Sunday, Mindy wanted to speak first. The freshman guard figured if she missed any talking points, then Mandi could clean things up. It’s a pretty good bet that Mindy’s often watched her older sister get the final word growing up, but in this case they both got it.
Mandi Kawaha scored on an acrobatic drive to give UHH a one-point lead with 27 seconds remaining in overtime, then Mindy came up with a steal and layup, and the Vulcans simply refused to lose in handing highly ranked Alaska-Anchorage its first loss, 76-73 before 177 fans at Afook-Chinen Auditorium.
“I know I can rely on my defense more than my offense,” Mindy Kawaha said. “I came in and stole the ball and it was a left-handed layup, and I thought I was going to miss it, but I got.”
UHH (5-2) continues to squeeze everything out of its short-handed lineup, but it didn’t help itself at the free throw-line and trailed by as many as four in the extra session. Jenna Waki buried two at the line to stabilize matters and Kayla Revelo made one of two.
After the Seawolves’ Nicole Pinckney missed two free throws, Heaven Samayoa-Mathis grabbed the rebound, and the Vuls called a time out with 27 seconds remaining and facing a one-point deficit.
Mandi Kawaha, naturally, got the ball. It was only matter of if she was going to shoot or pass.
“I just tried to create and split the defense,” she said after scoring a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting. “I looked, and I aimed (at my shot), but it was kind of surprising to me that it went in. I was like, ‘Lucky roll, lucky roll.”’
The sisters were surprised their shots went in, but neither are caught off guard that the Vulcans are flourishing, with each of their past three wins more impressive than the previous one.
“We can be mean on offense and defense,” said Mindy Kawaha, who scored seven points. “Honestly, we always had it in us.”
Samayoa-Mathis, a freshman guard who shot 5 of 7 and made three 3-pointers en route to a career-high 15 points, secured the victory by blocking a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Vuls could be ranked as early as this week. They received votes in the regional poll but got no consideration in the D2SIDA national poll, which Alaska-Anchorage (8-1) has topped the past three weeks. Anchorage, which had a 24-game winning streak dating to January 2020, a 20-game winning streak against PacWest Hawaii schools and was 6-0 all-time against the Vuls, was fifth in the WBCA poll.
“I always believe in this team,” Mandi Kawaha said. “Even though we’re down players, when they come back, we’ll be better.”
As expected, the Seawolves came at the Vuls in waves. In all, 13 players saw the court, 11 played double-digit minutes and 10 scored.
“I was like, “Whoa, can I catch a breath like that?,” Mandi Kawaha said.
No, not when the Vuls are down three players, all of whom coach Dave Kaneshiro is hopeful can return after the break.
Mandi Kawaha and Samayoa-Mathis each logged 40-plus minutes as UHH used just eight players, and that was before Sara Shimizu had to be carried off the court with what appeared to be a foot or ankle injury. Shimizu (six points) returned but was carried through the postgame handshake line by Nikki Miller, who registered 10 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Waki scored 12 points and Revelo had seven rebounds.
Kimani Fernandez scored 17 on 8-of-10 shooting for the Seawolves, who shot just 41.3% and were 4 of 20 from 3-point range.
“I’m just real proud, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Kaneshiro. “I haven’s studied the stats, but I don’t think we can depend on 50% shooting and 57% from 3s very often.” (UHH shot 26 of 52 from the floor and 8 of 14 on 3s).
However, good shooting is becoming a trend, as is the Vuls’ propensity of playing from in front. They took a six-point lead to halftime. Anchorage got within two on Rachel Ingram’s 3-pointer late in the third quarter, but Samayoa-Mathis responded with a 3-point play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mandi Kawaha and Samayoa-Mathis capped a 14-2 run that gave UHH its largest lead, 60-48 with 7:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But as Anchorage picked up it pressure defense, the Vuls committed five turnovers and made only one field goal the rest of regulation. Jazzpher Evans’ layup tied the game at 64-64 with just under two minutes left, and that was the score when Mandi Kawaha drove to the paint and had her shot blocked by Evans as the game went to overtime.
“The execution was great for three quarters on both ends of the floor,” Kaneshiro said. “Obviously, it was still a tight game against a really good team, but we were executing what we wanted to do.
“To get down, it almost makes it better in terms of the perseverance and resilience and the fight and heart and that we showed.”