GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Azusa Pacific won its fourth NCAA West Regional game in a row dating back to the 2018-19 season, ending Hawai`i Pacific's 38-game winning streak with a 72-59 victory to keep the Cougars' title defense alive on Friday afternoon on the campus of Colorado Mesa University.

Azusa Pacific has proven that it knows how to find its form when it needs to against the toughest teams in NCAA Division II's West Region. After eliminating top-seeded UC San Diego the last time the tourament was played before beating perennial power Alaska Anchorage in the following round, the Cougars have added a win against the hottest team in the nation to continue to establish itself as one of the premier programs in the region.

The Cougars' winning formula in Friday's victory was a familiar one as they dominated the paint on both ends of the floor. Azusa Pacific's defense help the Sharks to just 10 field goals made on 28 attempts from inside the paint. Laura Pranger and Molly Whitmore were a key part of that defensive dominance with three of the Cougars' five blocks.

On the offensive end, the Cougars scored 30 points in the restricted area, making 15 of 18 attempts from underneath the hoop. Pranger also drew four fouls from the inside as the Cougars attempted a total 22 free throws compared to just four for Hawai`i Pacific. Alex Lowden filled up the stat sheet for the Cougars with game-highs of 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals to go along with eight points of her own.

Azusa Pacific opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run with Kelly Heimburger coming off the bench for a 3-pointer and lay-up that gave the Cougars the lead for the rest of the game. That lead ballooned to double digits at the start of the third quarter as Kayla Shaw and Lowden scored seven points in a row out of the lockerroom.

Olivia West did everything she could to keep her team in the game in her postseason debut for the Sharks making a pair of 3-pointers at the beginning and end of a 12-0 run that made the score 56-55 for the Cougars with under seven minutes left. The Sharks got two steals during the scoring run and PacWest Player of the Year Amy Baum tried to make a third steal, but just missed leaving Paige Uyehara wide open for a 3-pointer to put some cushion on the narrowed Cougar lead. However, West made her third triple in a row to cut the lead right back down to one.

The Cougars' defense dominated the rest of the game allowing the Sharks just one point in the final six minutes, while Shaw and Lowden continued to show their range from all over the court to pull away in the end. The Sharks couldn't get anything going from the paint so they turned their 3-point shooters loose, but the shots weren't falling. West's trio of triples were all Hawai`i Pacific got in the final quarter as they went 3 for 13 from beyond the arc in the last frame, due in no small part to the effort of Uyehara and Lowden, who is the PacWest Defensive Player of the Year.

Pranger's contrubutions weren't limited to the offensive end. Despite missing most of the season, Pranger is the Cougars' most experienced player in the postseason, and it showed. The senior scored a team-high 19 points to go with her nine rebounds and two blocks. Shaw and Uyehara each added 13 points, while Whitmore finished with 11.

For the Sharks' West scored a team-high 16 points, and Alysha Marcucci had 15 points. Baum added 12 points, four assists and two blocks for the Sharks, who wrap up a record-setting season with a 13-1 record.

Azusa Pacific improved to 11-4, having won nine of its last 10 games. The Cougars will wait until the regional championship to play again and will face whoever comes out of the bottom half of the bracket on Monday. Westminster and Black Hills State are facing each other on Friday night, and Western Colorado awaits the winner for a chance to take on the defending West Region champions.