HILO, Hawai`i—Hawaii Hilo's defense kept Chaminade sharpshooter Destiny Castro off range for just long enough, and used Allie Navarette's 31 points on offense to rally back for a 62-55 victory over the Silverswords on Sunday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorioum.

The Vulcans improved to 6-9 in the Pacific West Conference with the win and to 7-12 overall. Chaminade falls to 4-11 in the PacWest and to 4-17 overall.

Navarette had over 30 points for the second time in 48 hours, after scoring a career-high 34 on Friday against Academy of Art. She hit 12-of-18 shots from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. She had a double-double with 10 boards. Mandi Kawaha had 13 points, four steals and six assists.

Castro had 20 points to lead the Silverswords, but 14 of those came later in the game after the Vulcans built a double-digit lead. Still, Castro ended up with a double-double with 11 rebounds and also had five assists.

UH Hilo broke out to a 7-2 lead minutes into the game on two baskets by Navarette and a three-pointer by Sara Shimizu. But the Silverswords caught fire from there, going on an 8-0 run and then more, taking a 24-11 lead at the end of the period.

In the second quarter, it was UHH's turn to reverse the momentum. Shimizu hit another trey to open the quarter and the Vulcans went on a 7-0 run. Navarette, who sat out a chunk of the first quarter with two fouls, caught fire with ten second period points to help the Vulcans creep closer. Navarette had 14 points and seven rebounds at the break, with Kawaha feeding her for a total of five assists.

Chaminade's lead was cut to one at intermission, 27-26, but the Vulcans outscored them in the quarter, 15-3.

UH Hilo took the lead seconds into the third quarter when Kawaha opened the period with a three-pointer. It was their first lead since the opening moments of the game, and ironically they wouldn't trail the rest of the night. Chaminade would tie the game three times in the quarter, but the Vulcans outscored them in the third (14-9) to take a 40-36 margin into the fourth.

But Castro and the Silverswords made things interesting in the final minutes. The 5-foot-6 guard caught fire, cutting an 11-point Vulcan lead to one (50-49) with baskets on four straight possessions. Breann Nueku would then tie the game (53-53) with 1:55 left on a driving runner in the paint.

Navarette then went back to work, scoring twice with a Vulcan defensive stop in between. After her second basket, Shimizu stole the end bounds pass and the Silverswords then had to foul. Kawaha would hit four of four and Navarette added another with 13 seconds left to seal the game.

"I am proud of the way we stuck with it after a slow start," said Vulcan head coach David Kaneshiro. "Sara and Jenna (Waki) did a nice job on Destiny to keep her opportunities to a minimum."

The Vulcans now hit the road for five games, beginning with a Saturday (Feb. 8) game in San Rafael.