HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball team returned to action Monday hoping to end a pair of streaks by Azusa Pacific.
However the Cougars kept both intact with an 83-59 win at McCabe Gymnasium which spoiled a "Pink Out Night" crowd.
Azusa Pacific, the first-place squad in the Pacific West Conference, not only won its 14th straight but also remained unblemished in the series against the Silverswords with nine wins to no defeats.
The Cougars (17-3, 14-0 PacWest) were paced on a record-setting night by Rachel Bozlee who set a program record with nine 3-pointers. It also tied the PacWest record with California Baptist's Kamille Diaz who also had nine in March 2016. It was also the most by a Chaminade opponent, breaking the mark of eight held three times, most recently by BYU-Hawai'i's Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo in February 2013.
While Bozlee (27 points) set a new mark for her school, Chaminade's
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) inched closer to two of her own.
Her 16 points gave her 926 in her career while her five steals moved her past Samantha Saito for second all-time with 167. She needs two to break Kristle Henry's mark of 168. Castro also had four rebounds and three assists.
Michaella Dean (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran) added a season-high nine points for the 'Swords along with a team-best five boards.
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) and
Hunter Liftee (Kamuela, Hawai'i/Central Methodist Univ./Honoka'a HS) each had eight with six coming from
Ellyonna Bankofier (Happy Valley, Ore./Clackmas).
Chaminade fell to 4-12 and 3-9 in the PacWest.
Buckets from Castro,
Jordyn Zader (Mukwonago, Wis./Pius XI) and Bankofier help give the 'Swords an early 7-2 lead but APU's 14-0 run put the visitors ahead to stay.
The Cougars' lead swelled to as many as 25 early in the third quarter but Chaminade still showed plenty of fight. Castro, who was held to six points in the first half, scored nine points with two more from
Grace Underhill (River Forest, Ill/Oak Park-River Forest) as a part of an 11-2 surge which made the Azusa Pacific contingent nervous as Castro's triple brought the Silverswords to 56-42 with 2:28 left in the third quarter.
But Bozlee stuck a 3 on the next possession – her fifth of the game – to put APU back up by 17.
In the fourth, a floater in the lane by
Kali Benavente (Tamuning, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) reduced the deficit back to 14 with seven minutes left to keep hope alive for the 'Swords. However Bozlee stuck triples on three straight attempts to take the life out of an improbable comeback.
Azusa Pacific made 51.6 percent of its shots to Chaminade's 39.1 However in the third quarter the 'Swords did outshoot by making 9 of 14 tries from the floor (64.3 percent) and held APU to just 7-of-18 shots (38.9).
The Cougars' significant height advantage gave them a whopping 47-26 rebounding margin. But Chaminade did force 19 APU turnovers, the most committed by the Cougars in a month.
The Silverswords return to action Thursday at McCabe Gym when they host Biola. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
