The University of Hawai’i at Hilo women’s basketball team boasted a 3.48 team grade point average for the 2022-23 school year to land in the top 60 of NCAA Division II women’s basketball programs as announced by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
The WBCA released its 28th annual Academic Top 25 Honor Rolls Tuesday morning with an additional 48 schools named as special mentions for garnering team GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
Among the schools played against during the 2022-23 season, UH-Hilo ranked No. 3 behind Montana State Billings (No. 10) and Point Loma (No. 37). Within the teams listed from the Pacific West Conference, PLNU was the top squad as the Vulcans finished ahead of Biola and Azusa Pacific.
UH-Hilo landed all nine of its eligible student-athletes (having appeared in at least one game) on the 2022-23 Academic All-PacWest Team for achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Additionally, Bree Olson was named the 2022-23 Sakai and Harue Wakakuwa Female Scholar-Athlete at UH-Hilo’s All-Sports Banquet earlier this year in May.
The WBCA is a membership-driven organization, which encompasses more than 3,000 coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball at all levels of the sport — from scholastic and non-scholastic youth to collegiate to the WNBA.
The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and two-year college women’s basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2022-23 season is the 28th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
Men to tip off in Canada
Simon Fraser University has partnered with Langley Events Centre to host the Conference Commissioner’s Association (CCA) NCAA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic, a 12-team (six women’s and six men’s) tournament, Nov. 3-5, 2023. Each team will play three games and there will be six games daily Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
There are more than 300 Division II basketball programs in the NCAA, with the SFU Red Leafs being the only Canadian member, competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). SFU will welcome squads from six states to Langley and a total of five conferences will be represented.
On the men’s side, the tournament lineup includes SFU, East Coast Conference member Daemen (New York), UH-Hilo of the Pacific West Conference, St. Edward’s (Texas) of the Lone Star, and GNAC teams Seattle Pacific and Western Washington.
“Hosting the CCA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic is a great way for fans to see the high level of Division II men’s and women’s basketball competition up close,” said eighth-season SFU men’s head coach Steve Hanson. “Our program is excited and extremely proud to co-host the event, which will add NCAA basketball to the great events — from the youth level to the professional ranks — played at the LEC for the next three years.”
Tickets will go on sale in the fall.
Tourney schedule
Friday Nov. 3 — 4:30 p.m. / 7:30 p.m. (PT): Simon Fraser vs. UH-Hilo
Saturday, Nov. 4 — 7 a.m. / 10 a.m. (PT): Seattle Pacific vs. UH-Hilo
Sunday, Nov. 5 — 8:30 a.m. / 10:30 a.m. (PT): UH-Hilo vs. Western Washington
