Kalani alum gets a shot at UH

Former Kalani basketball standout Violet Alama will get two more chances to beat the hometown team when Cal State Northridge hosts Hawaii on Saturday in a Big West women’s basketball game at the Matadome in Northridge, Calif.

Now a senior for the Matadors, Alama played at the Stan Sheriff Center once as a sophomore, when the Rainbows Wahine edged CSU Northridge 66-58.

She started and played 34 minutes in the loss, scoring a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting.

As a junior, Alama was named the Big West co-sixth woman of the year and earned honorable mention after averaging 7.2 points and 5.9 rebounds a game.

This season, Alama has worked her way back into the starting lineup her previous two games, grabbing 14 rebounds (eight offensive) in a split against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.

The Matadors (11-8, 5-3) are 0-3 all-time against Hawaii (9-10, 5-3).

Alama’s offense is down this year. The 5-foot-9 forward, who graduated from Kalani in 2008, is averaging just 4.9 points per game, her lowest since her freshman season.

However, she’s moved up to sixth on the school’s all-time list with 606 rebounds and is eighth in free throws made with 222.

In her career, Alama has posted seven double-doubles and scored a career-high 32 points against Eastern Michigan as a sophomore. Her career high of 17 rebounds came at the end of her freshman season against Pacific.

Alama was one of three players from Hawaii on the team her freshman season, along with Punahou alumna Janelle Nomura and Kamehameha’s Analee Viena-Lota.

Northridge will play its final road game of the regular season at Hawaii on March 2. The preseason favorites in the Big West coaches poll close out the season at home against UC Riverside a week later.