HILO  –  The three-time defending PacWest Conference Champion Hawai'i Pacific University women opened league play with a wire-to-wire triumph over Hawai'i Hilo 69-46 Saturday afternoon at the UHH Gymnasium.
 
The Sharks (2-0, 1-0) never trailed, but swapped first scores with the Vulcans (0-1, 0-1) before using a 9-0 to open a lead that was never threatened.
 
The contest opened play in the PacWest Conference for the 2020-21 season.
 
The Sharks ran their school-record winning streak to 27 games with the triumph. The victory was also the 198th for Takatsuka, the winningest active collegiate coach in Hawai'i (198-64).
 
The Sharks had four players score in double-figures, led by the tandem of sophomore Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman and senior Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley who each scored 15 points. Senior Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore., chipped in 14 points. Senior Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion scored 12 points. Senior transfer Olivia West of Launceston, Australia/Templestowe pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Sharks while junior All-American Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary racked up eight rebounds and eight assists.
 
Mandi Kawaha led UH Hilo with 15 points as the only player in double-digits, with Kim Schmelz, Bree Olson and Jenna Waki each adding eight points.
 
HPU shot 39 percent from the floor (22-of-56), including 8-of-21 3-point field goals (38 percent). The Sharks also shot 74 percent from the foul line (17-of-23). The Vulcans hit 35 percent from the field (17-of-49), and 33 percent from the arc (4-of-12). UH made 8-of-12 (67 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU won the battle of the boards 37-32, while forcing the Vulcans into 17 turnovers against 12 of their own.
 
The game opened with Gambee scoring two from the foul line, the UH Hilo answering with a bucket from Schmelz. That's when HPU went on a 9-0 run starting with two free throws from Bates, followed by a layup from Gambee on the way to a lead HPU would never relinquish.
 
The Sharks held a 14-7 lead after the opening quarter, but pushed it to a 10-point lead at the half when Marcucci buried a 3-pointer to give HPU a 32-22 lead at halftime.
 
The Sharks outscored UHH by 10 in the third quarter and by three in the fourth period while building a 20-plus point lead.
 
Under the Covid-revised PacWest Hawai'i Pod schedule, the two teams play again on Sunday at Noon in the UHH Gymnasium.