In a wildly spectacular contest, Hawaii Pacific got a late driving lay-in and overcame a fierce Azusa Pacific rally to post a 73-71 victory.

Kylie Huerta's running lay-up with just 2.4 ticks on the clock broke the tie and gave her team the win. Her heroics were set-up, in part, by a Cougars squad who performed vastly different in each frame.

The first half left much to be desired for the Cougars. Azusa Pacific committed 14 turnovers which the Sharks took full advantage. During the opening half, Hawaii Pacific (19-4, 14-2 PacWest) posted a 17-0 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Sharks offense was efficient as they connected on 51.5 percent (17-for-33) of their field goal attempts. Conversely, Azusa Pacific (14-9, 10-6) went just 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from the floor. 

During the final 20 minutes of play the Cougars completely flipped the script. Azusa Pacific clamped down on defense and allowed the Sharks to shoot just 23.3 percent (7-for-30) from the field. Furthermore, the Cougars committed just five turnovers in the final stanza and Hawaii Pacific didn't score a single point off an Azusa Pacific miscue. 

Down, 45-23 at intermission the Cougars methodically chipped away at their deficit. A three-point play by Miriam Zabinsky with 12:14 left brought Azusa Pacific win single digits of the lead at 51-42. Less than four minutes later the Cougars were down just 54-52 after a Lauren Gilster jumper. During the opening 12:37 of the half, Azusa Pacific outscored the Sharks 29-9.

Hawaii Pacific slowly nudged back in front as they grabbed a 66-59 lead with 4:49 remaining until the final horn. The Cougars had one more scoring spurt in them and they tied the score at 66-66 on a Kelly Hardeman lay-up with 3:47 left. Ultimately, however, the home team could never take the lead.

Down the stretch the score was tied on two more occasions. Azusa Pacific had an opportunity to take the lead in the final minute. Trailing 70-69, Maggie Dumphy missed a jumper with 34 seconds left. On the ensuing possession Huerta made just one of two foul shots. Down by two with just over 10 seconds left Azusa Pacific worked the ball around to Zabinsky who layed it up and in to tie the score. 

However, Huerta's final shot sealed the win and the Cougars couldn't get off a shot in the game's final moment. 

Azusa Pacific was led in scoring by Kelly Hardeman who scored all 17 of her points in the second half. Katie Powell went 4-for-8 from behind the arc en route to 15 point evening. 

Morganne Comstock put together a 19-point, 10-rebound evening to pace the Sharks effort.

The Cougars five-game home stand to close the season continues on Monday evening by hosting Hawaii Hilo.