HILO, Hawai'i – The Hilbert College women's basketball team battled through four tightly contested quarters but came up short in a 73–65 decision against Blackburn College on Monday afternoon at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.

The Hawks and Beavers traded blows early, but it was Hilbert's  six-point rally over the final 97 seconds of the opening period to force an 18-all scored. Hilbert held a nine rebound advantage on the glass and limited the Beavers to just four offensive rebounds.

Hilbert extended their defense in the second quarter which created a quicker pace and turnovers. The Hawks forced the Beavers into 10 second-quarter turnovers, which gave Hilbert seven more field goal attempts. Yet Blackburn's shooting percentage was stronger which lifted them to a 31-28 advantage at the break.

Hilbert responded coming out of the break, shooting over 53 percent from the floor in the third quarter and keeping the game within one possession heading into the final frame.

Blackburn used a strong fourth-quarter push at the free-throw line to pull away late, outscoring Hilbert 21–17 in the final 10 minutes to secure the win.

Nyema Blair led all Hawks with 14 points off the bench, while Learsi Sabala added an efficient 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting along with six rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble. Mia Aldaya finished with 10 points, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc, and Hailey Alba contributed eight points and five rebounds in limited minutes.

Hilbert held a 47–39 advantage on the glass and scored 29 bench points, but turnovers and free-throw shooting proved costly.

Hilbert moves to 1–10 overall while Blackburn improves to 2–8 on the season. The Hawks return to action tomorrow afternoon with a 3pm Hawaii game (8 pm EST) against Loras College.