Box Score HILO, HI- The Silverswords fell to the Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans in overtime, 72-61, in a PacWest Conference contest tonight at UH-Hilo Gym.
CUH raced out to a 19-11 lead midway through the first half, as
Rhani Kaneaiakala (Waimanalo, HI/Kamehameha-Kapalama) paced the way for the Swords, dropping in 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor.
A pair of
Sabrina Angle (Pearl City, HI/Pearl City) free throws, a
Nikki Tauau (Oxnard, CA/Pacifica) field goal and a
Glacen Florita (Ewa Beach, HI/Pearl City) free throw would extend the Swords' lead to to its largest at 28-19.
CUH led, 32-25, at the half behind Kaneaiakala's 11 points, while Tauau had nine. The pair combined to shoot 9-for-14 from the floor as the Swords shot 44 percent from the field while holding UHH to only a 26.3 percent clip. Chaminade also went 10-for-14 from the foul line, while the Vulcans attempted only five, making four.
The teams traded baskets to start the second half and
Kennedi Akana's (Kailua, HI/Kamehameha-Kapalama) field goal made it 36-27 two minutes in. But the Vulcans responded on an 8-0 run to close to within a point. After a pair of Kaneaiakala free throws, UHH's Kirsty Imai tied it at 38 with a 3-pointer.
The game was tied at 42 when both teams went cold from the floor, going scoreless for nearly three minutes. But Natalie Mata's jumper at the 11:07 mark gave the Vulcans only their second lead of the game, sparking an 8-0 spurt.
But the Swords battled back as Tauau's putback tied it 57 with 3:15 remaining. Jazzmyn Davis' bucket gave the Vulcans the lead, but Kawakami responded with one of her own to tie it at 59 with 2:30 left.
Imai's field goal gave UHH a 61-59 edge with 42 seconds left, but Florita knocked down two clutch free throws to tie it up at 61 with 27 seconds left. The Vulcans had a chance to win it in regulation, but a jumper at the buzzer was no good to send the game into overtime.
UH-Hilo would outscore the Swords, 11-0, in the extra session with the help from a pair of 3-pointers by Kirsten Shimizu.
"Played well and was doing all the right things but the young ladies got overexcited and came up short," Silverswords head coach
Bobby Keanini said. "Lots of fun and (they) made a great effort."
The Vulcans were led by Mata's 20 points.
Kaneaiakala recorded her second double-double of the season (15 points, 14 rebounds), while Tauau also finished with 15 on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.
With the defeat, Chaminade fell to 1-21, 1-16 PWC. With the win, UHH improved to 12-10, 9-7 in the PWC on the year. The Swords conclude the season this Saturday when they host HPU at McCabe Gym. It'll be the final game for seniors Kaneaiakala, Tauau and
Dianna Zane. Tip is set for 5:00 PM HT.
