SAN DIEGO – The Chaminade University women's basketball team opened a 12-day, five-game road trip to Southern California Wednesday by dropping a 72-59 decision to Point Loma at Golden Gymnasium.
However, the good news for the Silverswords was the return of their top two scorers,
Olivia Crigler (Hebron, Ky./Pacific Union College/Holy Cross HS) and
Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Whittier College/Sacred Hearts Academy).
Crigler scored a game-high 18 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and pulled down six rebounds for the Silverswords while Martinez had 11 points, hitting all seven of her free throw attempts. The former missed the last three games while Martinez sat out the last two because of injury.
Emma Morris (Tuscon, Ariz./Tanque Verde) chipped in with 11 points, hitting three triples for Chaminade, which fell to 1-18 overall and 1-12 in the Pacific West Conference.
Mary-Lee Mitchell (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) added eight points and four boards.
Haylee Saurette led the Sea Lions (10-12, 8-6 PacWest) with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The game got off to a rather sloppy start with the teams combining for nine turnovers in the game's first five minutes and 15 in the first quarter with the Sea Lions committing nine of them. Crigler buried a pair of triples during the first quarter to help the 'Swords take a 14-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.
However, Chaminade went scoreless for nearly eight minutes, allowing Point Loma to tally the first 11 points of the second quarter to take the lead. A 3-pointer from Morris ended Chaminade's stretch of nearly nine minutes without a field goal helped the 'Swords close to 26-22. They also helped themselves by hitting all 10 free throws to trail just 35-30 at halftime.
But a 22-8 Sea Lions' run to start the third quarter gave them a 19-point lead which Chaminade never recovered.
The 'Swords shot 33.3 percent from the floor with Crigler and Morris accounting for all eight of the team's triples. Chaminade was a solid 15-of-19 from the free throw line with 33 rebounds and 13 steals.
Lile Hina Oyama (Honolulu/Kalani) had four thefts, tying her career high.
Dezaray Carter (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts Academy) tied Criger for high-rebound honors with six.
Point Loma, which shot over 40 percent in its previous four games, was held to 39.3 percent against Chaminade. The Sea Lions also made 6-of-18 from the 3-point arc and went to the charity stripe 30 times, making 18. They also had 48 rebounds with 16 assists.
The game also featured 48 total turnovers and 45 combined fouls.
The Silverswords are next in action Friday when they face Biola in La Mirada, California.
