BELMONT, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's basketball team got off to their best start of the season on Saturday but couldn't keep the momentum during the opening game of their first mainland trip of the season.
Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Whittier College/Sacred Hearts Academy) had a team-high 19 points while
Emma Morris (Tuscon, Ariz./Tanque Verde) added nine as the Silverswords suffered an 86-48 defeat to Academy of Art at the Walter Gleason Gymnasium on the Notre Dame de Namur campus.
The Urban Knights, who ranked last in the PacWest in both total 3-pointers and 3-point percentage entering the afternoon, hit 12 triples on 50 percent shooting, both season-highs, to rally from an 11-point first quarter deficit.
Olivia Crigler (Hebron, Ky./Pacific Union College/Holy Cross HS) contributed with six points while
Juliana Losalio-Watson (Ho'okena, Hawai'i/Konawaena) had five for Chaminade (0-7, 0-3 Pacific West Conference).
Dezaray Carter (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts Academy) pulled down a team-leading four rebounds.
ART U (1-8, 1-2 PacWest), which made just 22 3-pointers with a 20.4 percentage heading into the game, was paced by Alisha Wilson's career-high 26 points. Madison Johnson added 23, hitting seven triples.
The Silverswords began on a roll, knocking down four of their first six attempts in the first five minutes of the opening quarter. Martinez had four points during the run while Crigler and Morris each sank 3-pointers to help Chaminade open up an 11-0 lead.
But the Urban Knights rallied with 12 points in the final five minutes of the stanza, all coming behind the arc. Despite ART U's comeback, the 'Swords still maintained an 18-12 lead after the first quarter.
However, Academy of Art's momentum carried over into the second quarter with a 9-0 run, giving them their first lead of the game at 21-18. After a pair of Martinez free throws which tied it at 21-all, the Urban Knights replied with three consecutive 3-pointers to put them up 30-21. In all, the Urban Knights made 11-of-18 shots and 31 second-quarter points which helped give them a 43-31 halftime lead.
Chaminade couldn't recapture their touch in the second half, although Martinez scored six of the team's 10 third-quarter points.
The 'Swords shot 36.7 percent from the floor and made five 3-pointers, all which came in the first half. They also grabbed 24 rebounds and had eight steals with Martinez swiping three.
After being held to a measly 28.6 percent (4-of-14) in the first quarter, ART U made half of its 50 remaining shots to finish at 45.3 percent. The Urban Knights got to the free throw line 22 times, making 16 while pulling down 44 rebounds and dishing out 21 assists.
The Silverswords are back in action Monday at Holy Names University. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Hawai'i time.
