HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball team on Thursday dropped their Pacific West Conference opener to Fresno Pacific, 72-64, at McCabe Gymnamsium.
Reigning PacWest Player of the Week
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) overcame a slow start to lead all scorers with 21 points on the night. She also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals.
Hunter Liftee (Kamuela, Hawai'i/Central Methodist Univ./Honoka'a HS) added 10 points in defeat with
Diamond Carter (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Olympic College/Kapolei HS) had nine. Carter also grabbed six boards.
Michaella Dean (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran) made her collegiate debut after missing the first three games by ripping down a team-high nine rebounds while also dropping three dimes.
Bree Alvarez had 17 points for the Sunbirds who improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the PacWest. Cassie Pisik had 16 rebounds as Fresno Pacific dominated on the boards, 61-37.
Chaminade fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
After both teams played a near-even first quarter, the Sunbirds took advantage of the Silverswords' cold second-quarter shooting by outscoring them 16-6 to take a 33-22 halftime lead. Chaminade made just 3 of its 15 field goals in the quarter for 20 percent although Fresno Pacific was no better, making just 4 of 14 (28.6 percent).
A 15-6 run to open the second half gave FPU its largest lead of 48-28 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter although CUH managed to keep the deficit to 15 entering the fourth.
Down 65-50 with just five minutes left, the 'Swords managed to put the outcome in drama. Castro hit a pair of layups, a Carter field goal, a Liftee triple followed by a layup by
Ellyonna Bankofier (Happy Valley, Ore./Clackamas) were a part of a 12-1 surge bringing them back to within four (66-62) with a minute left. But FPU made 6-of-8 free throws to put the game on ice.
Castro had 10 of her points in the fourth quarter with Chaminade making 9 of its 16 field goals as they outscored Fresno Pacific 24-17 in the stanza. Along with being on the other side of the lopsided rebounding margin, the 'Swords put the Sunbirds at the free throw line 33 times with 24 makes. Chaminade attempted 21 shots from the charity stripe, making 12 for 57.1 percent.
Despite shooting just 38.1 percent from the floor, FPU fared no better with a 27.6 shooting percentage. Fresno Pacific also had 24 offensive rebounds and turned them into 14 second-chance points while Chaminade had just seven offensive boards.
The Silverswords are back in action Saturday when they host interisland rival Hawai'i Hilo at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
