HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's basketball made strides during the 2024-25 season. Their six wins were the most since 2018-19, just one shy of the program's single-season record.
There were some rough patches several big leads being extinguished including twice against Academy of Art and at Fresno Pacific.
However, there were also some big wins; a buzzer-beating win against Westmont and a convincing win over Biola, both teams which later qualified for the Pacific West Conference Tournament. They also enjoyed a win over Hawai'i Pacific University for the second straight year after 40 straight defeats to their in-city rival.
Sameera Elmasri (Shawnee, Kan./Birmingham-Southern Univ./Saint Thomas Aquinas HS) ended her collegiate career as the Silverswords' two-time scoring champion. She also accomplished an individual milestone, recording her 1,000th collegiate point, which included her lone year at Division III Birmingham-Southern College in 2022-23.
Also enjoying a breakout season was point guard
Morgan Escobedo (Scottsdale, Ariz./Pinnacle) who had a solid all-around game with averages of 8.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals. The sophomore was a terror on the court and had the game-winning score in their win over Westmont on Jan. 2.
Kali Jones (Hyrum, Utah/Mountain Crest) and
Maddy Weaver (Puyallup, Wash./Puyallup) had outstanding freshmen campaigns, giving the 'Swords a physical presence in the post which had they had lacked for years. Jones, a 6-2 post, had seven double-digit rebound games, five of which were 13 boards or more, en-route to an 8.1 rebounding average, the fifth-highest in single season program history. She also posted a 6.6 scoring average. Weaver added another 3.5 rebounding average for the 'Swords.
Junior guard
Dezaray Carter (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts Academy) was a model of consistency, starting 25 of the 'Swords' 26 games, setting a new career high with a 5.6 scoring clip. She and fellow junior
Selena Buttery (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) are the longest tenured members of the team with three years of experience.
Julien Parado (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Campbell) also gained a valuable season in experience, increasing her scoring average to 5.7.
Alyssa Schuetze (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) came off the bench 17 times during the season, providing valuable bench scoring to a tune of 6.1 points per game.
And while the 'Swords did not take a lot of shots from 3-point range,
Amaya Washington (Peoria, Ariz./Dream City Christian) made 15 from long distance, the second highest behind Elmasri's 40.
