HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball team on Saturday dropped the backend of their two-game series to Arizona Christian University on Saturday by a 63-49 count at McCabe Gymnasium.
For the fifth time this season, the Silverswords were paced in the scoring ledger by
Sameera Elmasri (Shawnee, Kan./Birmingham-Southern Univ./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS) who had 16 points on the afternoon.
Morgan Escobedo (Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle) followed with seven points and three assists while the 'Swords high rebounder was
Kali Jones (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) who grabbed 10. Fellow freshman post
Maddy Weaver (Puyallup, Wash./Puyallup) crashed the glass for nine more.
Madison Gage (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy) chipped in with five points.
The loss dropped Chaminade to 1-5 on the season.
Alyssa Alvarez had 15 points and six assists for Arizona Christian, which improved to 7-1.
Unlike Friday which saw ACU take control of the game in the third quarter, the Firestorm got it in the second quarter, outscoring the 'Swords, 22-8 including a 16-2 run, to end the period.
And also unlike the foul-fest first game which saw 48 combined personal fouls, there were only 25 in the rematch.
Down by as many as 39-26 early in the third quarter, Chaminade got a pair of Elmasri buckets, one each from Gage,
Dezaray Carter (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts Academy) and
Amaya Washington (Peoria, Ariz./Dream City Christian) and the first 3-pointer of the season from
Krislin Arjukese (Potomac, Md./Navy/The Bullis School) to close to within 43-39.
However, ACU scored 10 of the first 12 points of the fourth quarter to help extend its lead and sweep the series.
Chaminade shot 34 percent from the floor, made six 3-pointers and was 7-of-11 from the free throw line. They grabbed 38 rebounds, had 11 assists and 18 turnovers.
Arizona Christian was 38.9 percent from the field while also making six triples but was just 1-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Firestorm had 40 rebounds, 16 assists and six giveaways.
The Silverswords return to action on Sunday, Dec. 8 when they open Pacific West Conference action against the University of Hawai'i Hilo at McCabe Gym. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
