AZUSA, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's basketball team on Saturday wrapped up their four-game Southern California road trip with an 82-55 defeat to Azusa Pacific at the Felix Event Center.
Sameera Elmasri (Shawnee, Kan./Birmingham-Southern Univ./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS) had 12 points and seven rebounds while
Alyssa Schuetze (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) tied her season high with seven for the Silverswords, who also ended their trip of six straight games on the mainland.
Julien Parado (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Campbell) pulled down six rebounds while
Morgan Escobedo (Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle) and
Dallas Martinez (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Whittier College/Sacred Hearts Academy) had three assists. Escobedo contributed with three steals for Chaminade, which fell to 2-11 overall and 0-8 in the Pacific West Conference.
Azusa Pacific, the two-time defending PacWest champion, got 15 points from Amayah Kirkman to extend its winning streak to eight and improve to 12-3 and 6-0 in the conference.
The 'Swords got off to a rough start, suffering five turnovers on their first eight possessions and trailed 14-4 at the midway point of the first quarter. A Parado layup and an
Emma Morris (Tucson, Ariz./Tanque Verde) triple cut the deficit to single digits at 17-9 while Schuetze's 3-pointer as the first-quarter clock expired reduced the deficit to 27-14.
The 'Swords managed to hold APU to just 8-of-22 shooting from the field (36.4 percent) in the second quarter but couldn't generate enough offense themselves with just three made field goals to trail 48-24 at halftime.
However, Chaminade managed to stay nearly even in the second half against the Cougars, being out-scored just 34-31 in the final 20 minutes.
The 'Swords made 32.8 percent of their shots with six 3-pointers but also struggled from the foul line with 11-of-20 shooting. They grabbed 37 rebounds, had 11 assists, 10 steals and 18 turnovers.
APU was 41.9 percent from the floor with 12 triples. Like CUH, the Cougars also had difficulty from the free throw line, making just 8 of 17. However, Azusa Pacific also had 53 boards, 21 on the offensive end, 16 assists 12 steals and 13 giveaways.
The Silverswords return home for the first time since Dec. 2 when they face Academy of Art at McCabe Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.
