UHH’s Williams Rides Hot Shooting to PWC Weekly Award

Kirstie Williams’ hot shooting from beyond the arc has come at the right time for the University of Hawai`i at Hilo women’s basketball team.

Williams, a 5-foot-6 transfer from Sierra College, drained 13 three point shots in two games to earn the Hawai`i Tourism Authority / PacWest Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week award for games played between Feb. 17-23.

Her outside shooting touch has lit a team that was, at one point, mired in a seven-game losing streak that lasted for nearly a month. The Vulcans were also, at one point, sitting on the outside for a spot in the PacWest Tournament in San Diego, CA.

The Lincoln, CA native has helped change the fortunes of her squad with her three point shooting touch. UH-Hilo is now locked in to a tournament berth and is jockeying for seeding in the final few games of the regular season.

In her last four games, Williams has hit 25 shots from beyond the arc. The outside shooting barrage started on Feb. 15 in a 71-60 loss to Cal Baptist. She hit seven three pointers, five in the second half, in the road contest. Two nights later, she hit seven more treys in a road win at Azusa Pacific, which snapped the seven game losing skid.

Last Thursday, Williams torched the nets at the UH-Hilo Gymnasium, knocking down six three pointers to record her third straight 22 point effort. The Vulcans won that game over Holy Names 70-61.

Hours after learning that she had been given the PacWest award, Williams continued where she left off, dropping five more treys in an 82-67 victory over Notre Dame de Namur Monday.

Williams has set the school record three times this season for three pointers made in a game. She first set the record during a home win over Point Loma Nazarene on Jan. 4.

UH-Hilo has two more games left in its regular season. The Vulcans host Fresno Pacific Thursday before facing rival Hawai`i Pacific University Saturday. Both games tip at 5:00 p.m.