Previously, No. 17 Alaska Anchorage used to play UH-Hilo and win in a rout by an average of 36 points.
But UH-Hilo kept fighting every inch of the way before falling 71-60 on Wednesday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
UAA’s bench outscored the Vuls bench, 40-16, led by Cameron Fernandez’ 13 points.
The sophomore forward played in her first game for the Seawolves (9-1), after transferring from Washington State last season.
Sala Langi scored 11 points while Kian McNair and Jahnna Hajdukovich each ahad 10 points for UAA, which threw a full-court press on the Vuls.
Allie Navarette pulled a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for UHH (4-4), which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Mandi Kawaha added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Seawolves led 35-29 at the break and came out hot in the third quarter, outscoring UHH 24-13 and hitting 50 percent on field goals.
UAA led 59-42 heading into the final 10 minutes and stretched its lead to 22 points, but the Vulcans kept chipping away until the final buzzer.
UHH held Hannah Wandersee, the GNAC’s preseason player of the year, to just four points. She leads UAA with 14 points and seven rebounds per game.
The Seawolves have won the last four GNAC titles and ranked No. 3 in the West region.
In 2016, they finished runner-up at the national championship.