HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball team returned home for the first time in nearly a month Tuesday facing a long-time rival which happens to be one of the best in the country.
Against No. 3 Hawai'i Pacific University at McCabe Gymnasium, the Silverswords didn't shy away and surprised them with an efficient first quarter. However the good times didn't last as the Sharks took control in the second to come away with an 88-54 win on a "Pink-Out Night."
Destiny Castro (Talofofo, Guam/Notre Dame HS) tallied a team-high 19 points for the 'Swords who fell to 4-23 overall and 4-17 in the Pacific West Conference.
Cheyenne Ardona (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) contributed with 12 points.
Abbey Noblett had 29 points for the Sharks who ran their winning streak to 22 in improving to 26-1 overall and 21-0 in the PacWest. With one game remaining on its schedule, HPU is seeking to become the first team since California Baptist in 2016 to run through the PacWest undefeated.
Meanwhile Noblett set a Chaminade opponent record by making 15 free throws, breaking the mark of 14 set earlier this season by Dominican's Jerusha Paine and Hawai'i Hilo's Allie Navarette last March.
Breann Nueku (Honolulu/Clark College/Kamehameha-Kapalama HS) had nine points for the 'Swords followed by
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) with seven.
Castro pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for Chaminade while the program's all-time leader in steals took away four, increasing her single-season record total to a conference-leading 90 as well as her career total to 290. She made six field goals and all three of the team's 3-pointers.
Ardona had seven boards while Blowe and Nueku had three each.
HPU became the highest ranked team the 'Swords faced since squaring off against second-ranked Gannon University in November 2013.
Kali Benavente (Tamuning, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam) got the Silverswords on the board first, knocking down a baseline jumper although that the Sharks responded with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 13-4 lead.
But that seemed to just light a fire under the home team. Nueku and Ardona combined to make five three throws while Castro book-ended a 10-0 run with a triple and layup which put the 'Swords up 14-13. But as luck would have it, Amy Baum swished a 40-foot heave at the buzzer which put HPU ahead 16-14.
Ardona's layup tied it at 16 to start the second quarter but a 15-2 HPU run over the next three-and-a-half minutes would spell trouble for the 'Swords. The Sharks would end the half by scoring 14 of the game's next 18 points to own a 45-25 lead at the break. A 9-0 Sharks' run to start the third quarter helped to end the remaining drama.
Chaminade shot just 29.1 percent from the floor, making 16-of-55 tries. Interestingly they made four shots in all four quarters. The Sharks were 44.3 percent from the field and were 26 of 32 from the charity stripe. They also turned the ball over 11 times.
The 'Swords were outrebounded, 40-28, but tied a season-high with 19 made free throws out of 24 attempts. Ardona and Blowe, who were a combined 41.7 percent from the charity stripe this season, combined to make 7-of-9 free throws on Tuesday.
Castro's 19 points were her most against the Sharks since she sliced through their defense for 38 in December 2017. In the four games since that evening and heading into Tuesday, HPU surrendered just 14, 10, 9 and 12 points to her, respectively.
The win secured two more points for HPU in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge. Since its inception in the 2015-16 year, the Sharks have never lost a women's basketball game in the competition against their fellow Hawai'i schools.
The Silverswords wrap up the season Thursday when they host Hawai'i Hilo at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with seniors Benavente, Castro, Nueku, Benavente and
Kirstin Wong (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Aliso Niguel) being honored after the game.
