HILO, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University women's basketball team put together a solid first half but ran out of gas in the second, falling at Hawai'i Hilo, 68-46, Thursday at the Hilo Civic Auditorium.
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) returned to her usual form after two subpar performances with a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Silverswords who fell to 2-19 overall and 2-17 in the Pacific West Conference.
Breann Nueku (Honolulu/Clark College) added 12 points.
The Vulcans got 23 points and 15 boards from Allie Navarette to improve to 7-15 and 5-14 in the PacWest. UH Hilo's win split the season series between the two, marking the fourth straight season of such an occurrence. It also gave the Vulcans a point in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge women's basketball standings.
UHH outscored Chaminade 40-17 in the second half after the 'Swords held a 29-28 halftime lead. Castro had 17 points and five steals in the first half but was neutralized in the second 20-minute stretch.
The Vulcans held the early advantage at 16-8 but a 10-0 run by the 'Swords bridging the first and second quarters gave them their first lead of the game. Castro had six straight during the run while
Alicia Dugan (Renton, Wash./Peninsula College) and
Sephora Yayouss (Brussels, Belgium/Peninsula College) also scored buckets during that stretch to put them ahead 18-16.
From that point, there were seven ties and six lead changes. The final lead change came with just 4 seconds left on Castro's two free throws to put Chaminade ahead at the break.
But the Silverswords started the third quarter ice-cold, missing seven straight shots while the Vulcans went on a 10-0 run of their own. Chaminade finally got on the board in the third with an
Alana Nuuanu (Nanakuli, Hawai'i/Nanakuli) bucket which ended a near-nine minute scoring drought.
However, UH Hilo had already had too much momentum, going on a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter to build a double-digit lead that Chaminade could not overcome.
The 'Swords made only 5-of-22 field goals attempts in the second half. But while UHH made just 5-of-17 in the third quarter, its 7-of-10 shooting in the final 10 minutes helped seal the game. Chaminade was also out-rebounded, 40-22, and had only five assists to Hilo's 17.
The 'Swords, however, made 14-of-15 free throw ties with Castro going a perfect 7-for-7. They also forced 22 Vulcan giveaways.
The Silverswords will wrap up the first season under head coach
Arthur King on Saturday when they host No. 19 Azusa Pacific at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Following the game, the team's lone senior,
Jakarra Waddell (Burbank, Calif./Long Beach City College) will be honored.
For the first time ever, there will be live streaming video for a Chaminade women's basketball home game through
ScoringLive. Live streaming audio will also be available at GoSwords.com.
