The University of Hawai`i at Hilo women’s basketball team overcame a size advantage and a long first half shooting drought to defeat the Argonauts of Notre Dame de Namur University 73-58 at the UH Hilo Gymnasium Thursday.
Jameia McDuffie opened up the game by scoring the first eight points, including a pair of treys, to help the Vulcans stay with Notre Dame de Namur in the opening minutes. UHH led 10-9 in the first four minutes of play.
Both teams hit a dry spell throughout the next thirteen minutes until Kirsty Imai found her stroke from beyond the arc. She hit a pair of threes with under three minutes to play in the first half to push UHH to a 29-23 lead. They would take a 29-27 lead into the intermission.
After Charnisha Bradley tied the game to start the second half, UH Hilo went on a 12-0 run in a four minute span to take a 41-29 lead with 14:35 remaining in the game. McDuffie started the scoring with a three at the left wing. Another trey from Kirsten Shimizu in the left angle completed that long run, and the Argonauts would not be able to climb back into the game from that point.
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Kirsty Imai and McDuffie each nailed three treys in the game to help lead the Vulcans in the scoring column. Imai led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while McDuffie followed with 13 points and three steals.
The Vulcans held true to their increased tempo while limiting their turnovers. They gave the ball away 11 times in the game, half of NDNU’s 22 turnovers. UHH’s nine three pointers were also a key factor in the runaway victory. The Vulcans shot 9-0f-24 from beyond the arc, besting NDNU’s 2-for-6 outside effort.
The Argonauts stayed in the game through the first half with a focus on exploiting their height advantage over the Vulcans. Trisha Malaspina took advantage of that, leading to a team high 14 points. Her touches dropped significantly in the second half, however, as the team fell behind. Guard Taylor Dewees added 11 points and both of NDNU’s made three-pointers.
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UHH improved to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play. They host Dominican University at 5:00 p.m. Saturday at the UHH Gynmasium. That game can be heard on ESPN Radio and ESPNHawaii.com. The Argonauts fell to 1-10 overall and 0-3 in league play. They visit BYU-Hawai`i on Saturday in Lai`e.
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