SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--Something had to give on Sunday afternoon at the Conlan Center, with a pair of win streaks on the line in the women's basketball match-up between visiting Hawai`i Hilo and host Dominican.

In a back-and-forth game that featured numerous lead changes, it was the Penguins who prevailed with a wild 68-65 win over the Vulcans. It was the sixth consecutive win for Dominican, who now sits all alone in second place of the Pacific West Conference standings with a 14-5 mark (17-9 overall). The Vulcans, who had won five of their last six, fell to 10-8 in the PacWest and 13-9 overall. UHH remains in sixth place in conference play.

Mandi Kawaha led the Vulcans with 25 points, and she had seven rebounds and three assists. Sara Shimizu hit four treys and had 14 points. UH Hilo now returns home for their regular season finale on Friday, Feb. 25 against Chaminade. The Vulcans have already qualified the Pacific West Conference tournament, which begins on March 2 in Fresno. 

Dominican, who came into the game having won eight of their last nine, which included a victory over conference leader Azusa Pacific, shot out of the blocks in the opening moments. The Penguins hit five of their first six shots and had a 11-2 lead just three minutes into the contest. They would push that margin to 13 points (17-4) at the halfway point of the first quarter before settling for a 23-13 lead at the end of the first ten minutes.

But in the second period, the tide shifted. A three-pointer from Shimizu got the Vulcans jump started on an 8-2 run, and soon back-to-back treys from Sierra Cavaletto tied the game at 34-34 with 3:33 left in the half. Shimizu then buried another long bomb to give UHH its first lead of the game (37-34) with three minutes left. The Vulcans continued to roll into the halftime break, using a basket by Jenna Waki, free throws by Kawaha and a driving lay-up by Kawaha to take a 43-36 lead at the buzzer.

In that second quarter blitz, the Vulcans outscored the Penguins 30-13. The Vulcans were 6-of-10 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.

The Penguins rallied back in the third quarter. They outscored the Vulcans 17-9 and regained the lead on a Jordan Charlton lay-in (48-47) at the 3:50 mark, capping a 12-4 run. The teams traded baskets over the final three minutes, with Dominican taking a 53-52 lead into the final period.

In the fourth, Dominican pushed their lead to five points but it was short lived. Shimizu tied it at 59-59 with yet another trey, and back-to-back baskets by Mandi and Mindy Kawaha put the lead back on the Vulcans side (63-59). A few moments later, Dominican regained the lead on a pair of Riley Friauf free throws (64-63).

A Mandi Kawaha runner with 19 seconds left gave the lead back to the Vulcans (65-64). But the Penguins answered with eight seconds remaining on a bucket by Alaiyah San Juan, and Vulcans followed with a turnover and a foul. Alex Salise nailed two free throws and the Vulcans desperation three-point shot at the buzzer came up short for the 68-65 Dominican win.

Friauf, who leads the PacWest in scoring (21.3) and is third in rebounds (9.8), led the Penguins with 25 points and 13 boards.