BELMONT, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's basketball team dropped their second straight game in their Northern California road swing, 81-70 to Notre Dame de Namur Thursday at Walter Gleason Gym.
Reigning Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Week
Destiny Castro had a solid all-around performance with a game-high 21 points along with eight rebounds and five assists. She also tied the program record with six steals.
Kristle Henry added 16 points and four assists while
Kali Benavente tied her season-high with nine points while dishing out four assists.
Chaminade fell to 1-13 on the year and 1-9 in the Pacific West Conference.
The Argonauts improved to 7-7 and 5-2. Jerusha Paine and Emily Tevez led NDNU with 17 points each.
Meanwhile, Chaminade's
Lilia Maio, who entered the game needing 15 points to become the program's all-time leading scorer, was saddled with foul trouble all game and scored five points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, her first foul-out since January 2015. With 1,132 points, the senior graduate from Kamahameha-Kapalama is just 10 away from breaking Samantha Saito's record of 1,141.
The Silverswords came out firing in the first quarter as three of their first four baskets were behind the arc with Henry drilling two of their 3-pointers. Benavente, Castro and Henry hit back-to-back-to-back layups, giving Chaminade a 21-15 lead with three minutes left in the quarter.
But the 'Swords went cold, going over six minutes without a score which spanned the first and second quarters as NDNU's 12-0 run helped give it a 27-21 advantage. Chaminade finally ended the drought as
Jakarra Waddell scored two of her season-best six points on a layup at the 6:45 mark of the second quarter.
Both teams failed to take care of the ball with Chaminade committing 12 first-half turnovers while NDNU had 11. But the Argos were 11-of-14 from the foul line while the Silverswords made only 1 of 8.
NDNU opened up a nine-point cushion in the opening minutes of the third quarter but baskets by
Carissa Webb, Benavente and Henry cut the deficit to 44-41 midway through the period. But the Argos pushed their lead to nine at the end of the third before the 'Swords again cut into the lead as Casto's layup made it 61-56 with seven minutes left. But NDNU's 9-0 run helped seal the game.
Despite shooting a season-high 51.8 percent, the Silverswords also suffered 28 turnovers and 28 personal fouls, both of which were also season-highs.
However, they managed to solve their woes from the foul line, hitting 6 of 7 in the second half and also forced NDNU to a shoot below 40 percent from the field.
The Silverswords conclude their road trip Saturday at Fresno Pacific.
