HILO, Hawai`i—A Senior Night celebration at UH Hilo is always special, with the post-game lei shower, food galore and hugs from friends and family.

It's especially wonderful when you add a decisive victory to the festivities.

The Hawaii Hilo women's basketball team led from nearly start to finish on their way to a 64-52 win over Dixie State on Thursday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. It was the final home game of the year for the Vulcans, and they went out in style.

It was UH Hilo's third straight win as they improved to 8-9 in the Pacific West Conference and to 8-12 overall. Dixie State dropped to 4-13 in conference play and to 4-19 on the year.

Kim Schmelz led the Vulcans with 15 points, while Asia Smith added 11 points and seven rebounds. Sydney Mercer was also in double figures with ten.

The Vulcans started the game cold and didn't score a field goal for the first four minutes of the game. But they would soon catch fire, outscoring the Trailblazers 15-4 in the first quarter. Six different Vulcans scored in the first ten minutes, and UHH's defense helped contribute to an ice cold start for Dixie State. The visitors hit just 2-of-13 shots in the period and were 0-for-8 from three-point range.

The cold spell continued into the second quarter for Dixie State as UH Hilo increased its lead. The Trailblazers would miss all 16 three-point attempts, while the Vulcans continued to put points on the board. A Sydney Mercer three-pointer with 45 seconds left in the quarter gave UHH a 36-14 lead, and they went into the locker room up at the break, 36-16. All nine Vulcan players scored in the first half.

That pace would continue into the third quarter. A Kim Schmelz three-pointer with 7:25 left in the period gave the Vuls a 47-18 lead, which would be their largest of the game. The Trailblazers made a game comeback in the fourth quarter, cutting the margin to 10 with just under three minutes left (55-45), when Matti Ventling hit DSU's first trey of the night. Lisa VanCampen would add a three moments later to make it 57-48, but  Schmelz added her own trace at the other end for good measure.

In addition to Mercer and Smith, it was the final time in a home uniform for Pilialoha Kailiawa, Vanessa Mancera, Alexa Jacobs and Lauren Hong.

VanCampen led the Trailblazers with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Vulcans will head to the bay area next week, taking on Holy Names on Tuesday, Academy of Art on Thursday and Dominican on Saturday.