FRESNO, Calif. – Saturday will go down as a memorable day for Chaminade University senior
Lilia Maio.
The forward from Nanakuli not only made history but also had the game's biggest points as the Silverswords ended their first road trip of the year with a 79-76 win over Fresno Pacific at the Special Events Center.
The Kamehameha-Kapalama alumna broke a tie game by converting a 3-point play with 3 seconds left to help Chaminade salvage their three-game jaunt through North California and the Central Valley. Maio scored 15 points to become the program's all-time leading scorer to give her 1,147 in her career as she passed Samantha Saito's previous mark of 1,141.
The Silverswords also got 18 points from
Kristle Henry and 17 from
Destiny Castro to improve to 2-13 overall and 2-9 in the Pacific West Conference.
Megan Lee led the Sunbirds (4-13, 1-8 PacWest) with 17 points.
Tied at 76 with just 5 seconds left in overtime, Maio received a sideline pass, then drove the left baseline and hit the layup while being fouled. She converted the and-one to put the 'Swords up by three. FPU had a chance to tie the game but the Sunbirds mishandled a pass at the top of the key and never got a shot off.
"It feels great to break the record," said Maio whose record-breaking point came on a free throw with 6:39 left in the fourth quarter. "I did struggle a lot on this road trip (13 of 38 from the field in the three games) but the main thing was we came out with a win to end it on a good note.
"I couldn't have done it without my coaches, teammates and all my friends and family that have shown their support for me throughout my career at Chaminade."
"Her milestone is great in the amount of games she played and she's so quiet, humble and thankful," Chaminade head coach
Bobby Keanini said. "Really happy we have her at Chaminade for our program. One of the most wondering student-athletes that I had the pleasure to work with."
Fresno Pacific led 33-31 at the half and after Maio's layup tied the game at 41 early in third quarter, the Sunbirds went on a 12-2 run to own their largest lead of the game at 53-43. But Chaminade scored nine straight to end the quarter including a 3-point play by
Chantal Yadao and Henry's three layups, cutting the deficit to 53-52.
FPU went up by seven early in the fourth but
Courtney Kaupu scored six of her 11 points on three uncontested medium-range jumpers to pull the 'Swords to within a point.
Carissa Webb put Chaminade ahead 67-66 and after the Sunbirds retook the lead, Henry drilled a jumper to put the royal blue and white back up 69-68 with 48 seconds left. Viviana Vasquez made 1 of 2 foul shots to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Kaupu's 3-pointer and another Maio layup gave Chaminade a 76-72 lead with 2:26 left but baskets from Lee and Ashley Cross knotted the score at 76. FPU, still under the foul limit, committed one with 5 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds pass in front of the 'Swords' bench, Maio received the ball on the left wing and took off for the hoop.
"I knew I had to take the ball and score it," Maio said. "Thank God I made the basket, got the foul called and made the free throw as well."
Maio, who was in first-half foul trouble and struggling with her shot (1 for 8), found her rhythm in the second half, going 5 for 9 including making both field goal tries in overtime.
"Lilia struggled but we stayed with her and it paid off," Keanini said. "She really needed a game like this to get her back on track."
Meanwhile in addition to her 17 points, Castro also pulled down six boards and dished out four assists. Both Maio and
Taylor Babbitt each hauled in eight rebounds. Babbitt also had career-high four steals. Maio and Webb also combined for four of the team's seven blocked shots.
Although they shot just under 45 percent for the game, the 'Swords were 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) from the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Silverswords return to McCabe Gym Thursday as they face BYU-Hawai'i for the final time ever. Live streaming audio will be available on GoSwords.com.
