AZUSA, Calif. – Despite a slow start, No. 1 seed Hawai`i Pacific found its form in the second half and then held off a furious comeback by No. 5 seed Biola to claim a 68-65 win in the semifinals of the PacWest Championships on Friday in the Felix Event Center.
 
Hawai`i Pacific (28-1) is now back into the championship game as the Sharks go for the first team to win three-consecutive PacWest Championships in tournament history. Biola finishes the season with a 19-11 record after qualifying for the PacWest Tournament and reaching the semifinals in the first year of eligibility.
 
Hawai`i Pacific snapped out of a sluggish start with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter and retake the lead after Biola had picked up where it left off against Point Loma, shutting down the PacWest’s highest-scoring offense. Amy Baum, who scored a game-high 20 points, scored her first basket of the game at the start of the third quarter, knocking down a triple to give Hawai`i Pacific its first lead since the first quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter, Baum hit another of her four three pointers in the game to push the lead to 54-48 just two minutes after Biola had cut the deficit down to one. Tatum Brimley answered with a 4-0 run by herself, and then Jazz Benn made a jumper to keep Biola close.
 
The Sharks answered with a jumper by Starr Rivera and then Baum knocked down another 3-pointer on the next possession to make the score 65-56. Biola trailed by 10 points with less than two minutes to go, but Brimley hit back-to-back treys to put the Eagles right back into the game. On the next possession, Brimley made it three in a row to cut the deficit to 68-65, suddenly putting the Eagles back within a single possession.
 
Then Jelissa Puckett drew an offensive foul to give Biola the ball back with 15 seconds left. On the final possession, Brimley dribbled around the perimeter looking to make it four 3-pointers in a row, but no open look was available with time expiring, forcing her to throw up a last second shot that bounced out.
 
Hawai`i Pacific will meet Azusa Pacific in the final in a rematch of last year’s championship game, which was won by the Sharks for their second title in a row. They enter the contest with a 24-game winning streak, looking to become the first team to win against the other three times in a single season in the rivalry’s history.
 
Baum finished the game with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Rivera added 16 points, four rebounds and two steals. Brimley led all scorers with 24 points, while Benn had 21 points, and Aysia Johnson tallied 13 rebounds.