AZUSA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University held the lead after the first quarter before No. 3 Azusa Pacific came back for a 90-69 PacWest Conference victory Thursday evening at the Felix Event Center.
 
The Sharks (4-11, 1-7) held the lead until the third-ranked and conference leading Cougars (14-1, 10-0) went on a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter to take control of the game. APU marked the third top five opponent for HPU this season.
 
Junior Tavia Rowell of Langley, B.C./Walnut Grove led the Sharks with her second double-double of the season collecting 21 points with 10 rebounds. Junior Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman added 11 points with four assists, while freshman Allison Ross of Boise, Idaho/Boise also chalked up 11 points.
 
APU got 22 points from Paig Uyehara to lead all scorers, while Laura Pranger double-doubled with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla Shaw added 17 points with seven boards.
 
The Sharks shot 35 percent from the floor (24-of-68), including 12-of-35 (34 percent) from the 3-point arc setting season-highs for treys and attempts. HPU went 9-of-10 (90 percent) from the free throw line. The Cougars went 33-of-68 (49 percent) from the field, hitting 13-of-27 (48 percent) from beyond the arc. APU made 11-of-12 charity tosses (92 percent). The Cougars edged the Sharks 40-36 in rebounding, but suffered only eight turnovers to HPU's 11.
 
HPU opened well against the No. 3 Cougars, as the teams swapped the lead five times and were tied four times in the opening quarter. Grad student Julia Razo of Woodland, Calif./St. Francis hit a pull up jumper to key a 8-0 run to give the Sharks a 26-18 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. APU responded with a 7-0 run to end the period to leave HPU up 26-25 after one.
 
The Sharks continued to stay with APU in the second and led 33-30 after a Ross 3-pointer with 6:57 left in the half. But that was when the league-leaders took off with an 11-0 run, opened and closed by Molly Whitmore baskets and HPU had to play catch-up. The Sharks got 3-pointers from freshman Kayli Klemp of Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Mesa and Rowell sandwiched around an APU free throw that cut the lead to 42-39 with 2:06 to go, then the Cougars scored the last five points of the half to claim a 46-39 intermission lead.
 
The Sharks kept the game within five heading into the last four minutes of the third quarter, but APU rallied with a 9-0 run to regain a double-digit lead and never relinquished it. The Cougars were up 67-51 after the third and rolled on in the final period.
 
The Sharks close out their southern California road trip on Saturday afternoon by visiting Concordia Irvine. The contest tips at 1 p.m. HST (3 p.m. PST) in the CU Arena.