HONOLULU – After being forced to play the first game of their final home stand of the season at Hawai'i Pacific University's Shark Tank on Thursday, the Chaminade University women's basketball team on Saturday finally got to play on their home court.
However, the return to McCabe Gymnasium did not help the Silverswords, dropping a 52-49 decision to Academy of Art.
Sameera Elmasri (Shawnee, Kan./Birmingham-Southern Univ./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS) posted 10 points to eclipse the career 1,000-point mark. It includes her first year at Birmingham Southern College where she netted 323 points in the 2022-23 season. The senior reached the milestone with a fourth quarter free throw.
Morgan Escobedo (Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle) and
Alyssa Schuetze (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) led the Silverswords with 12 points each. However, the scenario mirrored the Dec. 21 meeting where surrendered a 16-point lead in the first half.
Kali Jones (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) and Escobedo each had nine rebounds with the latter posting her fourth nine-rebound effort in the past six games.
Chaminade fell to 6-16 overall and 5-11 in the Pacific West Conference.
ART U was paced by Alba Rovira Ayuso's 16 points to improve to 10-10 and 3-9 in the PacWest.
Both teams had a sluggish start to the game. Chaminade made just four field goals but the Urban Knights did not make a basket at all, going 0-for-10 in the opening period. In fact, ART U's first 10 points came from the free throw line as the 'Swords' lead swelled to 26-10 midway through the second quarter.
ART U's first bucket did not come until with 4:23 left on Ayuso's 3-pointer. That seemed to be the trigger of the Urban Knight's 12-1 run which closed the gap to 27-22. But Escobedo hit a driving layup and was fouled for an and-one right before the half came to an end to put Chaminade up 30-22 at the break.
The 'Swords went cold in the third quarter as ART U eventually took its first lead of the game, 35-34, with just under a minute left. The Urban Knights' momentum continued, leading by as many as 47-40 in the fourth quarter.
Schuetze's triple with 4:32 left, the Silverswords' first field goal in eight minutes, was the spark that helped them seize the momentum back. From there, it was a battle of free throws with the 'Swords eventually taking a 49-48 edge on Escobedo's freebie.
Christy Ojide Boiko put the Urban Knights ahead with a layup on the ensuing possession which turned out to be the final bucket of the game. ART U made two of its final four trips to the foul line while the 'Swords didn't help themselves with three turnovers inside of two minutes.
Despite all that, Chaminade still had a chance to send the game into overtime but the potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was off target.
The 'Swords made just 12 field goals and shot just 19.4 percent, the program's lowest since November 2021. However, they got to the free throw line 29 times and made 23 while also pulling down 40 rebounds. CUH also forced 30 turnovers, the seventh-most committed by an opponent in program history.
Academy of Art shot at a 31.1 percent clip and made 20-of-29 free throws. They had 46 boards and had 25 points off the bench.
The Silverswords will face conference newcomer Jessup University on Saturday, Feb. 8, in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Tipoff at McCabe Gym is set for 12 p.m.
