HILO, Hawaii – A 10-point halftime deficit was completely erased by Academy of Art women's basketball in the late stages of Thursday night's Pacific West Conference matchup with UH Hilo. However, the Vulcans ended up breaking the fourth quarter's third tie with a layup then six made free throws to seal a 66-58 win over the Urban Knights inside Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

Despite an early layup by freshman guard Alyssa Munn, the Vulcans built a 10-3 lead before scores by freshman forward/center Alisha Wilson and freshman guard Brooke Rodgers sparked five unanswered points from ART U.

A 3-pointer at end of opening quarter had UH Hilo up 15-10 then another six seconds into the following frame resulted in an eight-point margin. Junior guard Chanel Stuart countered with a triple of her own and redshirt freshman Kaila Murrell added a triple minutes later, but the halftime scoreboard presented a double-digit Vulcan advantage at 35-25.

After a flurry of offense from both sides in the opening minute of the second half, five points came from Stuart midway through the third to close the gap to 44-37. Baskets by Stuart and Wilson then highlighted a 5-1 push end to the quarter with ART U back by just four points.

Two high-percentage conversions for Wilson helped Academy of Art start a new ballgame at 50-50 before freshman guard Milan Tuttle and Stuart nailed triples for a 56-54 lead with just over four and a half minutes left in regulation. Following the two tie scores that ensued, a Vulcans layup at the 39-second mark would separate from the 58-58 deadlock and a 6-of-6 finish at the foul line settled the 66-58 win for the home team.

ART U's first PacWest loss since Dec. 4 puts Academy of Art at 7-6 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Stuart tied her season-high with 16 points including four 3-pointers while Wilson posted her fifth double-double of the year with 15 points and 14 rebounds (seven on the offensive glass) plus two blocks. Freshman forward/center Christy Ojide blocked a season-best four shots in addition to grabbing seven rebounds.

Playing its first game since Dec. 19, UH Hilo got 16 points from Mandi Kawaha and 15 points from Heaven Samayoa-Mathis en route to increasing its record to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference action.

The Knights' second stop on their Hawaii roadtrip will be in Honolulu this Saturday, Jan. 15 for a matchup with Hawaii Pacific inside The Shark Tank at 1 p.m. HT (3 p.m. PT).