KAHUKU, Hawai`i—For head coach Jim DeMello and the Hawai`i Hilo women's golf team, playing your best golf at the end of the season is the goal.

That end of the season is upon the Vulcans, with the three-day Pacific West Conference Championships beginning on Monday (April 24) at the Turtle Bay Resort (Fazio Course) on Oahu's north shore. The Vulcans and seven other PacWest teams will play three rounds of 18 holes Monday-Wednesday, shooting for the conference championship, west region qualifying berths and strong finishes to 2017.

"Our scores have gotten better as the year has gone along," DeMello said. "We want to play to the best of our abilities and finish as close to the leaders as possible."

The top of that pack is expected to be led by two-time defending PWC champion California Baptist. The Lancers are loaded again and are currently ranked third  in the large west region, which also includes teams from Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas.

Right behind CBU is Academy of Art, currently listed eighth in the region. Both teams are averaging less than 300 per round.

Vulcan junior Andi Igawa leads her team with an average near 79. She shot a season-low 74 at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, and has shot under 80 in three of her last four rounds.

As a team, UH Hilo is averaging around 325 a round, but turned in scores of 318 (Palo Valley) and 316 (Waikoloa) in their last two outings.

"We would love to get closer to 310-315 in this tournament," DeMello said. "We need to be playing our best golf of the year and we have that potential right now."

The men's and women's PacWest tournaments will begin teeing off at 7 a.m. Hawaiian time on Monday.