HONOLULU – In the opening 10 minutes on Saturday, the Chaminade University women's basketball team was poised to pull off an upset of visiting Dominican University of California.
But a second quarter lull spoiled those efforts as the Penguins pulled away with a 72-50 win over the Silverswords (1-8, 0-5 Pacific West Conference) at McCabe Gymnasium.
In defeat,
Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Whittier College/Sacred Hearts Academy) had a team-high 15 points while
Ellyonna Bankofier (Happy Valley, Ore./Clackamas) posted her second straight double-digit scoring game with 10.
Michaella Dean (Irvine, Calif./Orange Lutheran) pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds -- the second straight game she has down so – while
Arianna Blowe (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) recorded a block to extend her streak to 14 games dating back to last season.
Riley Friauf recorded a double-double in the first half alone to finish with 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Penguins (8-7, 5-3 PacWest).
Chaminade's first eight points were accounted for by four different players with Blowe, Martinez, Dean and
Sasha Phillip (Hau'ula, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Baptist Academy) each scoring two. Phillip had seven of the 'Swords' nine points during a stretch which helped them take a 15-5 lead late in the first quarter and forced the Penguins to miss 15 of their first 17 shots of the game.
Dominican scored nine straight spanning the first and second quarters although Chaminade still held a 23-21 edge midway through the second. However, DUC ended the half on a 13-2 run to take a 34-25 halftime lead. The Penguins made 11 of their 15 shots and outscored the 'Swords 26-10 in the second quarter while Friauf posted 15 points and 12 boards at halftime.
Chaminade managed to cut the deficit to 40-31 in the third but a 13-1 DUC run would help the visitors to pull away.
The Silverswords managed to hold their own on the glass, pulling down a season-high 49 rebounds, tied for the fifth-most in team history. Along with Dean's career-high,
Emma Morris (Tuscon, Ariz./Tanque Verde) pulled down a season-high-tying seven in her return to the lineup after missing the last two months due to an injury. Phillip had five rebounds while Blowe and Martinez had four each.
Chaminade shot 29 percent overall (18-for-62) from the field and managed to hold Dominican to just a shade under 39 percent (28-of-72).
The Silverswords will wrap up their current home stand Monday against Academy of Art. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
