Former Page star excelling at BYU-Hawaii

Posted by Oree Foster | Mar 12, 2015 | Basketball |

Brigham Young-Hawaii point guard Celeste “Boka” Claw helped her team to a 15-12 record and 12-8 in league play by averaging 12.7 points and 6.8 assists per game. (Courtesy photo)

FORT DEFIANCE

Whenever Celeste “Boka” Claw has the ball, she makes things happen.

Claw is Brigham Young University-Hawaii Seasiders’ team leader at point guard. She understands the game, sees the floor exceptionally well and distributes the ball efficiently.
As a point guard, Claw is averaging 6.8 assists a contest, fifth best in the Pacific West Conference.

“My responsibility is to get the ball to my teammates,” said Claw, a junior college transfer from Chandler/Gilbert (Ariz.) Community College. “I distribute the ball to my open teammates.”

That task is Claw’s first priority, but in the event that a defender leaves her open she “can drive into the paint or pull up and shoot from the perimeter or from the three-point arc.”

Claw averaged 12.7 points per game, while shooting 41 percent from the field. She has connected with 41.9 percent of her shots from the three-point arc. She is canning 78.5 percent of her free throws. Despite her 5-foot-4 stature, Claw is corralling 4.3 rebounds a game.

“I am having a good season,” she said. “I am holding my own. We’re playing well as a team. Team work is helping us win games.”

BYU-Hawaii completed its season 15-12 and 12-8 in the 13-school conference. The team finished sixth place in the conference standings and earned a berth in the conference tournament. This was only the third winning season in the school’s women’s basketball history, since it began in 2006-07. The last winning season was in 2008-09.