HILO,  Hawai`i—In what has almost become expected at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, the Hawaii Hilo women's basketball team was in upset mode on Thursday night before falling to second-place Concordia, 84-74.

After losing by 30 points to the Eagles in Irvine in December, the Vulcans held leads at the end of the first and second quarters, but the Eagles rallied back in the second half for the win.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 5-11 on the season and to 4-8 in the Pacific West Conference. The Eagles, winners of four straight, improved to 10-5 on the year and to 8-2 in league play, good enough to remain in second place in the PacWest standings.

Allie Navarette had 27 points to lead the Vulcans before fouling out late in the game. Jasmine Rachal had a career-high 33 points for the Eagles, and Michaela VanderKlugt had 19 points and eight boards for the winners.

The Vulcans led for most of the first half, for all but a few possessions. They shot 60 percent from the field in the first quarter and held a 21-20 lead. In the second period, they gave up the lead a couple of times but also got it right back and took a 42-40 margin into the halftime locker room.

They ended up shooting 56 percent in the first 20 minutes and nailed all 10 of their free throw attempts. The Eagles were hot from the charity stripe as well, nailing 12 of 13. UHH had just three turnovers in the first half, and Navarette had 14 points. CUI's Rachal almost equaled her with 12.

In the third quarter, Concordia began with a 4-0 run to take the lead, but Navarette answered with a trey to give it back to the Vulcans (45-44). There were five lead changes in the quarter, before a 10-2 run for the Eagles gave them a lead that they wouldn't give up again.

The Eagles led 61-55 heading into the fourth. The Vulcans cut that margin to three points on three different occasions, but CUI answered each time. They hit free throws down the stretch (37-of-46 for the game) and their ten-point lead at the buzzer was their largest of the night.

Kim Schmelz added 14 points for the Vulcans and Mandi Kawaha had 13 before fouling out. The Vulcans hit 21 of 24 attempts at the free throw line, 13 of 14 by Navarette.

The Vulcans will continue this four-game homestand on Monday, hosting Holy Names at the Civic. Start time is 5 p.m.