ST. GEORGE, Utah – Winning and Chaminade University women's basketball has historically been rarely used in the same sentence.
But now, victories are becoming contagious and the Silverswords did it again Thursday, defeating an opponent they had never before beaten.
Katie Buskey poured in a career-high 24 points while
Lilia Maio secured her second double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds as Chaminade held off Dixie State, 78-74, at Burns Arena.
The Silverswords were previously 0-15 lifetime against the Red Storm.
At 6-13 on the season, the 'Swords tied a record for wins set back in the program's inaugural season in 2006-07. More importantly, they also improved to 6-9 in the Pacific West Conference, pulling them to within three games behind BYU-Hawai'i and Academy of Art for the fifth and sixth spots in next month's PacWest Tournament in Irvine, Calif., with five games remaining. All six of their wins have come in the last 10 games and their third on the Mainland this season. The program had never won on the continent prior to this season.
Buskey also pulled down six rebounds, dished out three assists and had two blocks in the win.
Glacen Florita added 13 points while
Shana Kawakami had 10.
Kaylah Miller led DSU (7-15, 6-10) with 22 points.
Chaminade led by as many as six early in the first half before Dixie State was able to mount a run and capture the lead at the midway point. The lead teeter-tottered back and forth until Buskey's layup with 3:39 left in the half gave the 'Swords a 32-31 lead. Florita scored the next four points to put Chaminade up 36-31, but DSU ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 38-36 advantage at the break.
Early in the second half, the Red Storm was on the verge of pulling away, grabbing a 51-43 lead just four minutes in. But the Silverswords rallied as back-to-back 3-point plays by Buskey and
Carissa McBride completed a 15-6 run, giving the 'Swords a 58-57 lead with 11:42 remaining.
From there, the game went back and forth with six ties and six lead changes as neither squad could establish a decisive run. Chaminade led 71-67 with 3:12 left, but two Taylor Manes free throws and a Taylor Mann bucket tied it at 71 at the 2:20 mark.
Maio's basket followed by Mann's two foul shots kept the game deadlocked at 73, then Kawakami's layup with 1:35 remaining gave the 'Swords the lead for good at 75-73. Florita hit three free throws in the final 62 seconds to help seal the win, despite not having Buskey, Kawakami and
Kennedi Akana, each of whom fouled out down the stretch.
Chaminade hit 25-of-56 shots from the floor for 44.6 percent despite being out-rebounded, 49-36. The 'Swords also hit a season-tying nine triples on the night with Buskey hitting three while Maio was perfect on all three of her attempts from beyond the arc. The Silverswords also tallied 13 assists and was 19-of-26 from the foul line.
The Red Storm was 18-of-33 from the charity stripe, but only 9-of-22 in the second half. They were also held to a 37.1 field goal percentage.
The Silverswords will look to stay on their winning ways Saturday when they face California Baptist in Riverside, Calif.
