ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Chaminade University women's basketball team ended their final road trip of the season with a 76-74 overtime loss to Dixie State at the Burns Arena.
Lilia Maio tied her season-high with 24 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Silverswords who fell to 3-18 overall and 3-14 in the Pacific West Conference. The program's all-time leading scorer became the first player in program history to cross the 1,200-point threshold and now has 1,223 in her career.
Courtney Kaupu added 14 points and seven boards with three steals for the 'Swords while
Kristle Henry had 11 points and six assists.
Carissa Webb had a season-high 11 points and eight boards with
Kali Benavente contributing with six points and eight assists while
Destiny Castro pulled down nine rebounds.
Ali Franks led the Trailblazers (4-17, 4-11 PacWest) with 15 points.
DSU lead much of the first half and led by as many as 11 but Chaminade cut into the deficit, reducing it to a point on Castro's 3 late in the second quarter but the Trailblazers scored the final five points to own a 37-31 lead at the half.
DSU led by as many as 10 in the third quarter but CUH again rallied. Maio and Kaupu hit consecutive 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter then Heny hit a layup to give the 'Swords a 52-50 lead which swelled to as many as five at 57-52 with 3:54 left in the game. However the Trailblazers took the lead on Gabrielle Cabanero's 3-pointer, breaking a spell of 12 straight misses from long distances, to give them a 61-60 edge with 1:17 left. But down 62-60 with 7 seconds left, the 'Swords sent the game into overtime with Kaupu hitting two clutch free throws.
A 6-0 run in the extra session by DSU put the home team up 73-66 with 1:26 left. Again the 'Swords made things interesting as Maio scored six straight and Benavente's jumper with 4 seconds left reduced the deficit to 75-74. DSU made 1 of 2 foul shots on the other end, giving them a two-point lead. Chaminade had a chance for an improbable win but Henry's desperation 3 at the buzzer was no good.
The 'Swords managed to limit the Trailblazers to only 31.2 percent shooting from the floor, including a paltry 9-of-31 (29 percent) from 3-point range, and also forced 17 giveaways. However were out-rebounded 56-44. Chaminade managed a 36.2 percentage from the floor and had 17 assists to 14 turnovers.
The Silverswords return home to McCabe Gym with straight home games to close the season, starting next Saturday against Academy of Art. Tipoff is 5 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
