AZUSA, Calif. – No. 7/6 Hawai'i Pacific University ran its winning streak to 17 with a hammering 85-71 PacWest Conference victory over No. 15/25 Azusa Pacific on Monday night at the Felix Event Center. The win gives HPU a four-game lead in the PacWest Conference race with six games remaining in the regular season.
 
The Sharks (20-1, 15-0), ranked seventh in the WBCA Division II Coaches poll and sixth in the D2SIDA poll, used a 22-3 run late in the second quarter to erase an 11-point deficit to the Cougars (18-4, 12-4) to build an eight-point lead and never trailed again.
 
HPU had an 18-0 run in the third quarter to take their largest lead of the game of 22 points and controlled the tempo the rest of the way.
 
Sophomore Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic paced the Sharks with 18 points, while sophomore Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary double-doubled with 17 points and 12 assists. Senior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt added 16 points with a game-high eight rebounds, with junior Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion adding 13 points, six boards, three steals and two blocked shots. Sophomore Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley posted 11 points and matched Rivera with eight rebounds, while freshman Theresa Spatzier of Heidelberg, Germany/St. Raphael came off the bench with 10 points.
 
The Cougars were led by Savanna Hanson with 18 points, while Rachel Bozlee added 12 oints and Daylee Hanson scored eight points with eight rebounds. Cierra Roufosse and Laura Pranger each tallied three blocks.
 
The Sharks shot 45 percent from the floor (25-of-56), including 10-of-20 (50 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU nailed 25-of-27 (93 percent) from the free throw line. The Cougars were held to 36 percent from the field (24-of-67), including 9-of-24 (38 percent) from the arc. APU went 14-of-24 (64 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU outrebounded the taller Azusa squad 46-to-33, but suffered 14 turnovers to the Cougars 11.
 
The opening quarter was tight, with five ties and four lead changes. HPU never led by more than a point in the opening 10 minutes, while APU held as much as a 3-point lead. The Cougars took an 18-16 lead at the quarter on an Alex Lowden jump shot with 50 seconds remaining.
 
Azusa Pacific opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run for a 29-18 lead with 6:38 remaining in the first half on Savanna Hanson's 3-point jumper.
 
That's when the Sharks went on a lockdown defense and got their explosive offense on track. Bates got a jumper with 5:50 left in the half, followed by a Spatzier triple to start a 15-0 for the lead. And after a 3-pointer from Savanna Hanson, stretched the run to 22-3 for a 40-32 lead with 32 seconds left. Daylee Hanson hit a jumper to cut the HPU lead to 40-34 at halftime.
 
The Cougars battled early in the third quarter and had the game at 42-38 with 7:23 left in the period before HPU struck again. Bates hit a 3-pointer, followed by a free throw and two more 3's from Marcucci as the Sharks went on an 18-0 run capped by a layup from Bates to lead by 22 at 60-38  with 2:58 in the period. Azusa trimmed the lead, but a jumper by Baum sent the game to the quarter break at 66-47.
 
The Cougars chipped back in the final period with a 10-3 run to pull within 12 on Pranger's layup with 6:43 remaining. But HPU flexed back and regained a 21-point advantage with 1:45 left. Azusa finished with the final seven points as the Sharks won 85-71.
 
The win started a four-game Southern California road trip that continues on Wednesday at Concordia Irvine, who is tied with APU for second in the PacWest. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. HST (5:30 p.m. PST) at CU Arena in Irvine.