Hawai’i Pacific shoots past Hawai’i Hilo in PacWest opener

HONOLULU – Starting conference play the right way. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University women’s basketball team kicked off the PacWest conference schedule with a win over the University of Hawai’i-Hilo on Friday evening, 59-50. Freshman guard Morgan Hawkins led the way for the Sharks, scoring 13 points while tallying five rebounds and a pair of steals in the victory. 

The Vulcans had eight total active players for team’s first road game of the year as early-season injuries have piled up, seeing senior forwards Erica Ingram and Noelle Su’a-Godinet and junior guard Kalie Cruz not make the trip to face off against the Sharks. After missing the season opener against HPU, a rare non-conference matchup between the PacWest programs, Keirstyn Agonias made her presence felt with 11 points to help keep UH-Hilo competitive until the final buzzer sounded in the loss. 

The Sharks started slowly, seeing the visitors take an early 4-0 lead behind UC Irvine transfer Caiyle Kaupu’s back-to-back buckets. Ella Berge and Hawkins each would split trips to the free throw line before Iowa State transfer MaryKate King swiped the ball and took it in for a breakaway layup to knot the game at four. 

Back-to-back triples from Serenity Santos and King gave HPU (3-2) a five-point lead with 5:35 left to play in the opening quarter, continuing to display the improvement from long range for the Sharks this season. Erika Glenn drilled the team’s third triple of the frame a few minutes later as Hawai’i Pacific took a 17-10 lead after 10 minutes of play. 

Hawai’i-Hilo sprinted out of the gates in the second quarter, using a 6-1 run over the first two minutes of the frame to pull back within a basket, but a three from Ella Berge and fastbreak finish by Hawkins quickly restored the seven-point advantage for Hawai’i Pacific. Freshman forward KeanuMarie HuiHui answered back with a 3-pointer of her own for the Vulcans, trying to keep the visitors afloat after Kaupu picked up two early fouls. 

The Sharks would outscore the Vulcans by five points to close out the first half, taking a 31-22 lead into the locker room by drilling all six free throw tries and holding UH-Hilo without a made field goal for the final 4:31of the half. 

Hawkins came out in a hurry to start the third quarter, scoring the first six points for HPU as the lead extended to double figures for the first time all game. Seven straight points from Serenity Santos and another Berge 3-pointer extended HPU’s lead all the way to 16 by the end of the frame, taking a 48-32 advantage into the final 10 minutes as the Vulcans made 2-of-15 shots in the period. 

The shooting stayed hot for Hawai’i Pacific into the fourth, keeping Hawai’i-Hilo at a distance for much of the final frame before one final push from Agonias and HuiHui brought the Vulcans within single digits before the final buzzer, 59-50. 

KeanuMarie HuiHui led the Vulcans with 15 points, hitting 5-of-11 of her shots as the freshman displayed reasons for fans to be hopeful about her future in a Hawai’i-Hilo uniform. Agonias and Caiyle Kaupu each chipped in 11 points in the second straight loss to the Sharks for UHH. 

HPU senior Ella Berge added 10 points and seven rebounds as she continued her hot start to the 2024-25 season. Sophomore wing Serenity Santos chipped in 10 points, the second time in three games that the San Joaquin Delta (CA) transfer has broken double figures. 

The Sharks will be back in action on December 14, taking the short trip over to Chaminade to face the Silverswords in the first game of a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader. Tip-off for the women’s game is scheduled for 2 p.m. HT with the men’s game set to take place right after around 4 p.m. HT. Both games will be broadcast live on the Hawaii Sports Radio Network, 95.1 FM, AM 760 and streaming on hawaiisportsradio.com and will be posted for on-demand listeners.