HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University used an 8-3 run to open the game and never trailed on the way to beating Dixie State 70-56 in PacWest Conference action Monday evening at the Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The Sharks (19-5, 16-3) locked up the number three seed in next week's PacWest Conference Tournament with the win. The Trailblazers (4-21, 4-15) dropped their fifth straight game.
 
 "This was a great for our seniors, with a big win in their last home game," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We played well for three quarters, then lost some focus as we put the game away."
 
It was Senior Night and the seniors provided a good deal of the attack for the Sharks. Senior guard Brianne Yasukochi got the start and posted a season-high 16 points hitting five 3-pointers and a free throw. Senior guard VeAnne Navarro of Modesto, Calif./Modesto Christian, also scored 16 points with a game-high five assists. Senior center Aminata Cole of Anchorage, Alaska/Dimond just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Junior center Sarah Liva of Mililani, Hawai'i/Mililani did record her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Dixie State was led by Tramina Jordan with 18 points, as Ali Franks added 16 points with five rebounds and Gabrielle Cabanero posted 10 points.
 
HPU shot 41 percent from the floor (29-of-70), with 6-of-26 (23 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks connected on 6-of-10 (60 percent) from the free throw line. The Trailblazers hit 36 percent (18-of-50) from the field, including 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the arc. DSU made 14-of-21 free throws (67 percent).
 
HPU edged the Trailblazers 39-36 on the boards, and turned the ball over 10 times to DSU's 18.
 
It didn't take long for the Sharks to get started and they dominated until late in the fourth quarter.
 
Navarro collected six of the first eight points for HPU, with a pair of layups and two free throws as the Sharks went on an 8-2 run at the get-go. A Yasukochi 3-pointer with nine seconds left gave the Sharks an 11-point, 17-6 lead after the first quarter.
 
After neither team scored in the first three minutes of the second, the Sharks got a Navarro layup to key a 13-4 run to push their lead to 30-10 when Yasukochi hit another trey with 3:11 before the half. HPU got a layup from Liva just before the half to take a 38-14 lead in at the half.
 
The Sharks and Trailblazers played mostly even throughout the third quarter, with junior Stephanie Louie hitting her only shot by burying a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left for a 56-31 advantage.
 
HPU got the first two shots in the fourth to lead by 29 at 60-31 with 9:00 to play when the Trailblazers decided to close it up a bit with a 13-3 run. The Sharks, who were substituting freely, rebuilt the lead to 22 with 2:20 to play, but in the midst of enjoying the win in their final home game allowed DSU to end the game on a 12-4 run.
 
The Sharks have one regular season game left, when they visit McCabe Gym to meet cross-town rival Chaminade on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
 
With Point Loma's 81-58 win at BYU-Hawaii on Monday night and the Sharks win, HPU has been locked into the third seed in the PacWest Tournament in Irvine, Calif., next week. HPU will open the tournament a week from Thursday at 12:30 p.m. PST (9:30 a.m. HST).