OAKLAND, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University went on a 20-0 run in the third quarter to take over a nip-and-tuck game on the way to crushing Holy Names 86-55 on Sunday at Tobin Gym.
 
The Sharks (8-17, 5-13) won their back-to-back games on consecutive days with the Hawks (0-22, 0-14) and took over eighth place in the PacWest after Fresno Pacific lost to Academy of Art 69-67 in overtime on Sunday.
 
Junior Tavia Rowell of Langley, B.C./Walnut Grove led the Sharks with 30 points, with graduate student Julia Razo of Woodland, Calif./St. Francis adding 17 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Allison Ross of Boise, Idaho/Boise chipped in 10 points.
 
Alanna Felix scored 11 points as the Hawks leader, with Samantha Lemay-Zambrano adding 10 points with four rebounds. Jaiden Key also grabbed four boards in leading HNU.
 
HPU shot 52 percent (29-of-56) from the floor, including 11-of-24 (46 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks canned 17-of-21 (81 percent) of their free throws. HNU hit 40 percent (21-of-52) from the field, but just 4-of-14 (29 percent) from the arc. The Hawks made 9-of-15 (60 percent) charity stripe shots. HPU dominated the glass, 31-19, and suffered just 11 turnovers to HNU's 13.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the Sharks and Hawks, as the first two quarters featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.
 
The Hawks held three-point leads during the opening quarter, but HPU responded and a Razo driving layup in the final minute put HPU up 16-15 after the first.
 
The Sharks opened up a five-point advantage during the second before the Hawks responded and regained the lead. HPU trailed by two in the final minute before Razo hit a jumper to knot the game 34-34 at halftime.
 
The teams traded deuces to open the third quarter before Ross buried a trey to give HPU the lead for good. A Hawk layup cut the lead to one with 6:35 remaining in the period. It would be their last score until just before the quarter buzzer.
 
Razo responded with a triple, followed by a Rowell 3 and the Sharks were off and running. When junior Avery Cargill from Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman made two free throws with 10 seconds to go in the period, the Sharks led by 21 and had a 20-0 run. The Hawks got a layup just before the horn as HPU carried a 59-40 lead after three quarters.
 
Holy Names sliced the Sharks lead to 13 midway through the final quarter, but HPU rallied with 3-balls from Cargill, Razo and Rowell keyed a 14-0 run to put the game away. HPU added to its lead to finish with the 31-point 86-55 triumph.
 
The Sharks close a rugged eight games-in-12 days stretch on Tuesday when they face Fresno Pacific for the second time in 10 days with a chance to clinch a spot in the PacWest Conference Tournament. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PST) at the FPU Special Event Center.