HONOLULU – Although the Chaminade University women's basketball team has had a rather difficult season, their past two games against the University of Hawai'i Hilo have occurred with fourth-quarter drama. The Silverswords were hoping the third time was the charm.
However, like the previous two, the Silverswords on Friday were unable to find the magic touch as the Vulcans escaped with a 63-58 win at McCabe Gymnasium.
The 'Swords cut a 10-point deficit in the final quarter down to two before UH Hilo sealed it the down the stretch by hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final three minutes.
Carsen Bridges (Groveland, Fla./Leeburg) led a parade of Chaminade freshmen as the team's leading scorers in a rare weekday matinee game that tipped off at 2 p.m. Bridges had 12 points while
Sasha Phillip (Punalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Baptist Academy) added 11 and
Emily Laham (Potwin, Kan./Maize) 10. The totals for all three either set or matched season highs.
UH Hilo (5-6 Pacific West Conference) was paced by Sara Shimizu's 15 points.
The 'Swords (0-11 PacWest) got nine points from
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) along with five rebounds. She also recorded one block which moved her past Carissa Webb into fourth in the career blocks list with 48 and trails
Destiny Castro who is third on the list with 52.
Michaella Dean (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran) pulled down a team-high nine boards and had three assists which tied Laham and
Lile Hina Oyama (Honolulu/Kalani) for the team high. Laham also set a season high with seven rebounds.
The biggest lead for the Vulcans, who never trailed in the game, through the first 12 minutes was four although a run of six consecutive points gave them their largest lead of the game of 20-13 with five minutes left to play in the first half.
UH Hilo eventually built a 10-point lead four minutes into the final period but
Emma Morris (Tuscon, Ariz./Tanque Verde) hit a 3-pointer to trigger a 10-2 run which cut the deficit to 52-50 with 4:11 remaining.
But the Vulcans were cool under the sun, sinking nine free throws in the final three minutes to keep the 'Swords at bay.
Chaminade made 24 field goals, shot 44.4 percent from the floor, pulled down 39 rebounds and dished out 13 assists, all season highs. The 'Swords were plus-11 in the rebounding category, the first time they've out-rebounded an opponent this season.
However, their 22 turnovers resulted in a 17-7 advantage to UH Hilo in points off turnovers. The Vulcans gave possession away just eight times, by comparison, and made 21-of-26 free throws.
The Silverswords and Vulcans will wrap up the unusual and truncated 2021 season Saturday at McCabe Gym. Tipoff time is set for 12 p.m.
