HONOLULU – After several near misses, the Chaminade University women's basketball team was finally able to get that elusive first win.
Behind a season-high 17 points from
Katie Buskey and 14 from
Kristle Henry, the Silverswords snapped a 16-game losing streak dating back to last season with a 67-65 victory over Fresno Pacific Thursday at McCabe Gym.
The 'Swords (1-9 overall, 1-5 Pacific West Conference) also got 10 points from
Shana Kawakami and nine from
Lilia Maio. Henry also tallied four rebounds and five steals while Buskey had four thefts.
The win also gave Silverswords head coach
Bobby Keanini his seventh career victory to become the winningest coach in program history.
Despite being out-rebounded 41-28, Chaminade forced 33 FPU turnovers, tying a CUH opponent record. The 'Swords also tallied 17 steals.
The Sunbirds (2-9, 2-4) were led by Charde Steven's 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Chaminade began the game on fire by hitting its first four shots and 6-of-its-first-7 as the Silverswords grabbed a 15-2 lead three minutes in with Buskey accounting for eight. The Sunbirds managed to survive the initial wave, keeping pace as they whittled the deficit to eight three times.
Both teams then went cold midway through the half going without a point for nearly four minutes before
Carissa McBride's putback ended the drought, giving Chaminade a 30-17 advantage with just under five minutes left in the half. But FPU went on a 10-2 run in the final four minutes to pull to within 32-27 at halftime.
The Silverswords forced 18 turnovers and had nine steals at the break while hitting 12-of-26 from the floor while the giveaways allowed Fresno Pacific to take only 18 shots.
The Sunbirds chopped the lead down to four in the opening minutes of the second half, but Chaminade responded with eight straight to retake a 12-point lead, which eventually swelled to 55-39 on Henry's layup with 10:53 remaining.
But the Sunbirds mounted a furious rally down the stretch, going on a 17-7 run to close to 61-56 with 2:16 left. After three Silversword free throws put them up 64-56, Fresno Pacific made one final charge, drawing to within a point on four Stevens free throws with 23 ticks left.
After a Maio free throw gave Chaminade a 67-65 lead, the Sunbirds went for the win on Dakota McLarnan's 3-pointer from the left wing with three seconds left, but the shot bounced off the backboard and into the hands of FPU's Abrina Salas into the right corner. The Sunbirds were never able to get off another shot as the clock expired.
Chaminade shot 38 percent on the night while the Sunbirds were efficient from the floor at 43 percent. FPU spent considerable time at the foul line, hitting 22-of-27 shots, while the 'Swords were 14-of-20.
Kennedi Akana contributed with seven points and six boards while
Glacen Florita had six points on the night to move past Katherine Carlise into third of the program's all-time scoring list with 477 points.
The 'Swords begin their Northern California road trip at Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday, January 17.
