HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball team rallied from a 14-point third quarter deficit Wednesday to down Multnomah, 66-59, in their season opener.
Newcomer
Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Whittier College/Sacred Hearts Academy) had a team-high 14 points, making all eight free throws in her debut as a Silversword while
Jordyn Zader (Mukwonago, Wis./Pius XI) added 13, hitting 10-of-14 free throws.
Chaminade, which played in front of fans for the first time since the end of the 2019-20 season, put up 31 fourth quarter points – tied for the second most for a quarter in program history– after putting up 35 in the first three quarters combined.
The victory was a first for the 'Swords which was the first time in program history they had won their season opener. It was also just their second all-time win against a foe outside the Pacific West Conference.
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) added 11 points and eight rebounds for Chaminade (1-0) while freshman
Mary-Lee Mitchell (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) had 10 and three steals.
Alaygza Portis led the Lions (0-4) with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Trailing for a majority of the first half, the 'Swords found themselves down 38-24 with 6:24 left in the third quarter. But Chaminade went on a 13-0 run with Mitchell and
Sasha Phillip (Hau'ula, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Baptist Academy) combining for nine points which stretched into the fourth quarter.
The 'Swords finally caught the Lions at 40-all with two Martinez free throws at the 8:13 mark took their first lead since it was 3-0 with two Zader free throws a minute later. After Multnomah tied it at 44, Martinez hit a layup to put Chaminade up for good. The Silverswords made 10 of their final 14 free throws to keep the Lions at bay.
In all, the 'Swords made 17 of 22 shots from the charity stripe in the fourth.
Although Chaminade shot just 31.8 percent from the floor, they held Multnomah to just 4-for-21 from 3-point range. The 'Swords also went to the line 34 times, making 22. The 'Swords had 26 bench point to the Lions' 10 and they also outscored them, 21-to-14, in fast-break points.
Michaella Dean (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran) and
Lile Hina Oyama (Honolulu/Kalani) combined for nine of the team's 14 assists to help the 'Swords snap a 22-game slide dating back to January 2020.
The Silverswords return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 24 when they face Minnesota Crookston in the Malika Sports Thanksgiving Classic at the Hawai'i Pacific University's Shark Tank. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
