SAN FRANCISCO – The Chaminade University women's basketball team dropped their second game of the first road trip of the season, 85-69, to Academy of Art Monday at historic Kezar Pavilion.
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) had 24 points, hitting 11 of 19 shots from the floor while
Diamond Carter (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei) added 15 with three 3-pointers for the Silverswords who fell to 1-9 overall and 1-7 in the Pacific West Conference.
Castro, the PacWest's steals leader at 3.1 coming into the game, had six thefts, tying the program record which she owns with four others.
For the second straight game,
Alicia Dugan (Renton, Wash./Peninsula College) set her season-high in scoring, tallying 13 points on the night.
Kali Benavente (Tamuning, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) added eight points with five rebounds.
Carter led the 'Swords with seven boards while Castro had five, all coming in the second half. Castro also had a team-high three assists.
Jazzlyn Brewster led the Urban Knights (5-14, 4-7 PacWest) with 20 points and 10 assists as ART U won its third straight after losing its previous four contests.
The 'Swords got back-to-back buckets from Castro and Carter to grab a 9-8 lead midway through the first quarter. But the Urban Knights went on a 16-0 run, part of a 30-6 surge spanning the first and second quarters to grab a 49-24 halftime lead.
Chaminade greeted the third quarter with six straight points courtesy of consecutive baskets from Carter and Castro and two free throws from
Breann Nueku (Honolulu/Clark College). The run sparked the 'Swords as they outscored ART U 29-21 in the period.
The 'Swords made one final push as Carter's five points and Castro's layup was a part of a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 70-60 with 6:53 left to play. Chaminade had a chance to cut the deficit to single digits but a foul on a defensive rebound against Benavente led to a Ines Medina's 3-pointer which increased the Knights' lead back to 13 and the 'Swords never recovered.
Chaminade shot 36.5 percent from the floor while ART U was 41.1. The Urban Knights made 12 triples to the 'Swords' six and owned a significant edge on the glass, 56-32. However, CUH managed to force 21 ART U turnovers.
It's the second time in her career that Castro had six steals in a game which she also did in January 2017. She owns the single-game record along with Kristle Henry, Shamyra Daigle, Dianna Zane and Jordan Ahakuelo.
The Silverswords play the third game of their road trip Thursday at Fresno Pacific.
