AZUSA, Calif.—A fast start and rapid finish by Hawai`i Hilo unfortunately didn't translate to a 40 full minutes of upset basketball against the league's top team on Thursday night at the Felix Event Center.

The Vulcans led at the end of the first quarter (20-16) but host Azusa Pacific got into gear after that on their way to a 82-70 women's basketball victory on Hamlow Court. The Vulcans also scored 29 points in the fourth period but there had already been too much water under the bridge at that point.

The No. 4 west region ranked Cougars won their fifth straight to improve to 22-4 on the season and to 19-1 in the Pacific West Conference. They remain in first place in the PacWest, a full two games ahead of second-place Dominican, and guaranteed at worst a tie for the PacWest conference regular season title.

The Vulcans wrapped up their final road trip of the season at 8-16 on the year and 5-15 in conference play.

Allie Navarette led the Vulcans and all scorers with 30 points and 11 rebounds. She converted 14-of-15 free throw attempts and posted her 15^th double-double of the year and seventh consecutive. Freshman Maddie Beck had a career-high 12 points and also had five rebounds. Alyssa Movchan had 12 points as well (3-of-6 from three-point land), Mandi Kawaha had eight points and six assists and Malia Lee pulled down nine boards.

Lee and Navarette helped the Vulcans get off to a hot start, hitting the first two baskets of the game to give UHH a 4-0 lead. The visitors would lead the entire first quarter, thanks in part to treys by Beck and Movchan, and free throws at the end of the quarter by Navarette gave UHH a 20-16 lead heading into the second period.

The Vulcans still led (24-23) a little over a minute into the second period, but APU then went on a 11-0  run to start to pull away. They would outscore UH Hilo in the second period 26-10, hitting five three-pointers in the quarter to lead 42-30 at the halftime break.

The Cougars pushed their lead to 65-41 at the end of the third period, and continued to hold a large lead at 77-54 with five minutes left in the game.

But the Vulcans then made a final big push, outscoring the Cougs 16-5 in the last five minutes but it still wasn't quite enough. They did out-point Azusa 29-17 in the fourth, one of their highest 10-minute outputs of the season.

Azusa had four players in double figures, led by Cierra Roufosse with 17 and Savanna Hanson's 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Vulcans now return home for their final two games of the season, hosting Notre Dame de Namur on Tuesday and Chaminade on Saturday.