AZUSA, Calif. – For the third year in a row, Hawai`i Pacific has won the PacWest Women’s Basketball Championships, becoming the first program in conference history to win three in a row with a 68-57 win in the championship against No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific on Saturday in the Felix Event Center.
 
Hawai`i Pacific has now won 25 games in a row and will get the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA West Regional. Azusa Pacific drops to 25-5 on the year and the No. 2 seed will find out on Sunday’s selection show where in the bracket the Cougars will land in the NCAA West Regional. Hawai`i Pacific is anticipated to be the host of the tournament next weekend as its No. 1 seed.
 
Azusa Pacific held onto a small lead throughout much of the first half of the game, but Starr Rivera hit a 3-pointer and a lay-up in the final minutes of the third quarter to give the Sharks a 44-42 lead. The Sharks never let go of that lead and grew it to double digits with a 7-0 run that was started by an Amy Baum 3-pointer as the PacWest Player of the Year snapped out of a slow start.
 
Hawai`i Pacific’s defense held the Cougars to their lowest scoring total of the season as they made only 3 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc, and the Sharks recorded nine steals as a team. Rivera scored a team-high 18 points, while Abbey Noblett added 16 points and nine rebounds. While Baum didn’t have her best shooting performance, she found plenty of other ways to help her team, dishing out eight assists with eight rebounds and four steals.
 
Azusa Pacific was led by Daylee Hanson with 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Savanna Hanson recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and a block. The Cougars will go into the NCAA West Regional as defending champions with a similar lineup to what they had last year and another year of experience under their belts.
 
Hawai`i Pacific enters the NCAA West Regional with an undefeated record against NCAA West Region teams and four wins against teams that are expected to participate in the event. Hawai`i Pacific has now won the event a total of four times. As an athletics department, the Sharks have now won 34 PacWest titles, which is the most among active members of the conference.
 
2020 PacWest All-Tournament Team
Starr Rivera, Hawai`i Pacific – Most Outstanding Player
Daylee Hanson, Azusa Pacific
Amy Baum, Hawai`i Pacific
Laura Pranger, Azusa Pacific
Jessica Malazarte, Fresno Pacific
Tatum Brimley, Biola