HONOLULU –  The No. 3/7 Hawai'i Pacific University women's basketball team won their 30th straight game, but it wasn't easy. HPU needed to overcome an 18-point deficit with a crushing second half to defeat Hawai'i Hilo 73-64 in PacWest Conference play on Sunday afternoon at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (5-0, 4-0) are ranked third in the D2SIDA Women's Poll and seventh in the WBCA Division II Poll, were shocked by the Vulcans (2-4, 2-4) in the first half, building an 18-point lead in the second quarter before UHH carried a 47-31 lead into halftime.
 
But nationally-ranked Sharks roared back in the second half on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Vulcans 42-17 in the final two quarters to win by nine.
 
Senior Olivia West of Launceton, Australia/Templestowe led the Sharks with a career-high 26 points with seven rebounds. Junior Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley scored 17 points with seven boards, while junior All-American Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary chipped in 15 points with seven rebounds and three blocks.
 
The Vulcans were paced by Kim Schmelz with 18 points, as Bree Olson came off the bench with 11 points. Mandi Kawaha flirted with a triple-double with 10 points, a game-high eight rebounds and eight assists.
 
HPU shot 46 percent (21-of-46) from the field, including 42 percent from the 3-point arc (8-of-19). HPU converted 89 percent from the free throw line, going 23-of-26. UH Hilo shot 39 percent from the field (22-of-56), but only 6-of-28 (21 percent) in the second half. UHH hit 36 percent (4-of-11) from the arc, but went 0-4 for three in the second half. The Vulcans went 16-of-19 from the foul line, 84 percent. HPU outrebounded UHH 34-28, and but suffered 16 turnovers to the Vulcans 12.
 
HPU and UH Hilo went back and forth during the first quarter with the Vulcans taking a 19-17 lead after one quarter.
 
The swapping of scores continued into the second quarter as the Sharks tied the game at 25-all with 6:29 left in the half on a jumper in the paint from senior Alysha Marcucci of Yarragon, Australia/Marist-Sion. But the Vulcans got hot, closing the second quarter on a 22-6 run to claim a 47-31 lead at halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Baum collected the first seven points of the quarter to key a 13-2 HPU run that was capped with a Marcucci fast break 3-pointer to cut the UHH lead to five at 49-44 with 6:19 in the period. The Vulcans responded before HPU answered to trail by six after three periods 55-49.
 
The Vulcans got the first bucket of the fourth quarter by Schmelz for an eight-point lead, then the Sharks struck. Baum got a layup and a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 and give HPU a 59-57 lead with 4:15 to play. UH Hilo answered with a fast break layup from Olson to knot the contest at 59 at the 3:50 mark. Bates responded with a Bates jumper to take the lead at 61-59 with 3:36 remaining and HPU never trailed again. That shot started a 14-5 run to finish the contest for the 73-64 win.
 
The Sharks are back on the floor on Tuesday evening when cross-town rival Chaminade visits The Shark Tank in a rescheduled game from Jan. 26. The contest, the first of four against the Silverswords in eight days, tips Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.