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The Hawaii Hilo women’s basketball team picked up an impressive win on Monday at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, a 78-66 upset win over Point Loma in a wire-to-wire victory.
Six positions separated the two teams in the PacWest Conference Preseason Poll. The Vulcans (3-2, 1-1 PWC) were projected to finish ninth, while the Sea Lions (6-3, 2-1 PWC) were projected to be the third-place finisher.
Hilo was led by Mandi Kawaha, who racked up a career-best 27 points after 9-for-15 in the field, including a perfect four of four on 3-point baskets. Not far behind Kawaha was Sara Shimizu, who also picked up a career-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
After a 5-0 start for UHH, the game evened out to a 17-13 Hilo lead at the end of the first quarter. From there, it was all Vulcans. UHH later pushed the lead out to 30-19 on a pair of triples, before rebound leader Nikki Miller’s jumper eventually gave the Vulcans a 42-27 lead at the halftime break.
Point Loma chipped away at the lead in the second half, coming within single-digits at 48-36, but again watched the Vulcans pull away to their eventual 78-66 win.
UH Hilo will face Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 12 at the Vulcan Gym. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
