HONOLULU – With the game on the line, the Chaminade University women's basketball team turned to their best player to ensure defeat was not going to be taken from the jaws of victory.
And a little history was made along the way.
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) exploded for 19 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Silverswords survived a furious Academy of Art rally to pull out a 68-57 win Tuesday at McCabe Gymnasium. She also had a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, her 16th multi-steal game this season.
In the process, the junior guard became just the third Chaminade women's basketball player to reach the millennium scoring mark, joining all-time leading scorer Lilia Maio (1,266 points from 2013-17) and Samantha Saito (1,141 from 2006-10). Castro is the first junior to accomplish the feat, needing 64 games. Maio and Saito reached the 1,000-point mark in their senior years in their 75th and 89th games, respectively. Castro is also the first to get hers in a win.
The 'Swords, who snapped a seven-game slide, improved to 5-15 overall and 4-12 in the Pacific West Conference, putting them 3 1/2 games behind Concordia Irvine, keeping their hopes for their first-ever PacWest Tournament berth alive. They also swept the season series from Urban Knights, the team's first sweep since taking both games from Holy Names in the 2014-15 season.
Despite Castro being neutralized in the first three quarters, the 'Swords built as many as a 17-point lead in the second. But Academy of Art rallied and closed to within two midway through the fourth.
"I decided to take the game in my hands," Castro said. "It was a pretty close game, (ART U) was giving us really good competition so I just decided to (take the game over)."
That she did, hitting 6-of-8 field goals and making all seven free throws in the final 10 minutes.
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) had nine points, five rebounds and two blocks while
Hunter Liftee (Kamuela, Hawai'i/Central Methodist Univ./Honoka'a HS) added eight and another five boards.
Sephora Yayouss (Brussels, Belgium/Peninsula College/K.A. Etterbeek HS) set career-highs with eight points and five assists with
Kali Benavente (Tamuning, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) tacking on a season-high seven points.
ART U (3-18, 2-16 PacWest) was led by Lily Perkins' 24 points although she was held to just 6-of-23 from the floor.
With the Urban Knights employing a similar double-team strategy that Dominican used on Castro last Friday, her fellow 'Swords more than picked up the slack. Down 11-5 with 4:46 left in the first quarter, Blowe buried a 3-pointer to swing momentum to Chaminade's side. Over the next 12-and-a-half minutes which carried into the second quarter, the 'Swords kept finding the bottom of the net.
When the dust settled near the two-minute mark of the second, the Silverswords completed a 26-3 surge – their largest of the season – which put them up 31-14, their largest of the game. Blowe had nine points during the run with Benavente adding five and Castro four. Chaminade made 11 of its 17 shots and held the Urban Knights to just 1-of-12 and nine turnovers during the run. However ART U ended the half with seven consecutive points to help breathe back life into their hopes.
The Urban Knights managed to chop the deficit to four in the third but triples from Yayouss and
Ellyonna Bankofier (Happy Valley, Ore./Clackamas) helped build CUH's lead back to eight at the end of the quarter.
By the start of the fourth, fans had be concerned not only with the game's outcome still in doubt, but also wondering if Castro, who had just six points on 3-of-11 shots after 30 minutes, would have to wait until the weekend to make history. Then as ART U closed to 44-42 with 7:43 left, Castro had enough.
She converted an and-one then hit two free throws. After a Benavente score, Castro hit layups in three consecutive possessions to put Chaminade ahead 57-46. Yayouss' 3-pointer with 3:07 left was the dagger which put the Silverswords ahead 62-49.
From there it was a matter of whether Castro, who needed five points, had enough time to reach 1,000. The answer was yes as she hit back-to-back layups, the latter a vintage steal and breakaway score, to put her at 23 with 2:27 remaining. A minute later, she was fouled and headed to the line needing one to make history. Castro calmly swished the first to give her 1,000 then hit the second to complete a remarkable 24-9 surge in which she accounted for 19 of them.
Chaminade made 41.3 percent of its shots to ART U's 37.7. The 'Swords were slightly out-rebounded, 39-36, but had 12 assists to Academy of Art's seven. The contest also marked the return of
Diamond Carter (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Olympic College/Kapolei HS) who missed the previous eight games due to an injury.
The memories will likely overshadow the overall sloppiness of the game. The teams combined for 44 personal fouls and 39 turnovers, 24 committed by the Urban Knights.
The Silverswords open a four-game road swing Saturday at Point Loma.
