SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific never fully recovered from a double-digit first-quarter deficit, and the No. 1-seeded PacWest regular-season champion Cougars fell to No. 3-seeded Hawai'i Pacific, 75-68, in the PacWest Tournament championship game Saturday evening.

Daylee Hanson scored a team-high 21 points, and Savanna Hanson posted an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, but the Cougars committed 11 of their 21 turnovers in the opening quarter and faced a 10-point deficit heading into the second quarter.

Hawai'i Pacific improves to 23-8 and wins the PacWest Tournament title for the second consecutive season and third in five years, and the Sharks claim the PacWest's automatic berth into the eight-team NCAA Division II Women's Basketball West Regional Championship. Azusa Pacific drops to 25-5 overall, and the Cougars are a likely at-large selection to the regional championships, appearing in fourth in the region in each of three weekly regional rankings announced over the last three weeks.

Savanna Hanson and Laura Pranger were named to the All-Tournament Team.

What's Next: The 2019 Division II Women's Basketball National Championship bracket will be announced at 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, March 10, on NCAA.com. The No. 1 seeds from each region will be announced within an hour from the start of the selection show on both the NCAA Division II Twitter and Facebook pages. The tournament begins March 15 with the start of regional tournaments.

How It Happened: In the opening quarter, Azusa Pacific committed 11 turnovers, leading to half of Hawai'i Pacific's 22 first-quarter points, and the Sharks extended their 10-point lead to 15, 33-18, midway through the second quarter. Savanna Hanson answered with back-to-back threes, sparking the Cougar offense to a 15-4 run over the next four minutes. Rachel Bozlee drilled a three-pointer with less than a minute to play in the half to finish the run, which cut the lead to 37-33, but Starr Rivera answered with a three to give HPU a seven-point halftime cushion, 40-33.

The Cougars pulled within four points three times in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but Hawaii Pacific pushed the lead back to double digits with a 9-1 run, and the Sharks took a 59-48 lead into the fourth quarter. Just as it did in the third quarter, Azusa Pacific controlled the middle of the period, rallying to within five behind a 9-2 run. Daylee Hanson's three-point play with 3:41 to play cut the HPU lead to 64-49, and she converted another three-point play a minute later to keep the Cougars within five, 67-62. However, Hawai'i Pacific maximized its possessions down the stretch, taking time off the clock while going 8-for-12 on free throws in the final 2:02 to close out the win.

Azusa Pacific Standouts: Daylee Hanson was 13-for-16 from the free throw line as she scored a team-high 21 points, and she also had seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Savanna Hanson added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and a team-high three assists, while Laura Pranger joined the Hansons in double figures with 11 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, and four steals. Cierra Roufosse added a pair of blocks and a steal to go with six rebounds.

Hawai'i Pacific Standouts: Amy Baum, the PacWest Freshman of the Year, led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 10-of-13 from the free throw line while collecting seven rebounds. Two others joined her in double figures, as All-PacWest third team guard Alysha Marcucci tallied 16 points with Starr Rivera tossing in 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting off the bench. McKenzie Alton added nine points and team-highs of nine rebounds and six steals.

By The Numbers: Savanna Hanson's double-double was her 12th of the season… Daylee Hanson was one point away from her career-high, finishing with 21 to register her third 20-point game of the year… Laura Pranger collected 11 blocks in two games of PacWest Tournament play, giving her 14 games with at least four blocks this year… The Cougars edged HPU in rebounding, 45-41, but the Sharks recorded advantages in points in the paint (28-22), points off turnovers (25-10), second chance points (19-5), fast break points (14-6), and bench scoring (24-6).