HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter and never let it go again as they chalked up a 77-68 win over Azusa Pacific in PacWest Conference play Thursday evening at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
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The Sharks (7-3, 4-1) won for the seventh time in the last eight contests, while the Cougars (6-8, 4-2) had a three-game win streak ended.
 
"This was a real battle tonight, as we expected it to be," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We held our focus, shot really well late and played well on the defensive end."
 
HPU got strong play inside and out. Junior guard Breanna Mackenzie from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill double-doubled with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Cece Pearl from Peoria, Ariz./Peoria also scored 24 points. Junior point guard Spencer Gray from Centerville, Ohio/Centerville dished out nine assists with six points as 10 of the 12 Sharks that saw action scored.
 
Azusa got 18 points from Abigail Goodsell who also had six assists, as Gabielle Kaiser added 11 points.
 
HPU shot 47 percent from the field (31-of-66), including 35 percent (7-of-20) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks were only 8-of-15 from the free throw line. The Cougars were held to 38 percent from the floor (23-of-61), and nailed 9-of-24 (38 percent) from the arc. APU connected on 13-of-15 (87 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU outrebounded APU 42-37, while giving up 13 turnovers to the Cougars' 14.
 
The opening moments of the game saw three ties and three lead changes before Gray hit her only 3-pointer of the night with 6:24 to play in the first quarter to give HPU a 9-7 lead, one that the Sharks would never surrender. The Sharks used a 7-0 run just before the end of the period to open up the game, even though a 3-pointer by Casey Wortley narrowed the lead to 25-19.
 
The Cougars carried that momentum into the second quarter, to pull within two at 25-23 less than a minute in. But the Sharks countered with an 11-0 run to take a 13-point advantage with three-and-a half remaining in the half. Azusa wouldn't make it easy, closing the second on 7-2 run that cut the Sharks lead to 38-30 at intermission.
 
Azusa Pacific came out of the halftime break by taking the third quarter 15-11, as the Sharks hit only 26 percent from the floor. APU cut the lead to four at 49-45 on a free throw by Samantha Huddleston in the final 36 seconds of the period.
 
HPU reestablished a nine-point lead early in the final stanza, only to have Worley hit a 3-pointer to close the gap back to four at 63-59 with 5:01 to play.
 
The Sharks answered quickly on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Danielle Iwami of Seal Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos that keyed a 7-0 run that buried the Cougars for good.
 
HPU next faces a four-game, nine-day mainland swing to northern California. The Sharks open the trip against Holy Names in Oakland on Monday evening. Tipoff at Tobin Gym is set for 3 p.m. Hawai'i Time (5 p.m. Pacific).