Box Score PEARL HARBOR, HI (December 21, 2013)—The Hawai`i Pacific Women's Basketball Team (7-2) picked up a 66-63 non-conference victory against Malone (6-4) at Bloch Arena Saturday afternoon. The matchup was the final women's game of the HPU Classic being held at Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
 
After a thrilling win over the #17 team in the country on Thursday, the Sea Warriors came out of the locker room slow and found themselves in a 13-2 hole just six minutes into the game.
 
A Skye Savini layup with 12:50 to play in the half cut the lead to eight and a 10-0 Sea Warrior run late in the half tied the game at 23. Brittany Hale gave HPU a 28-24 advantage going into the break on deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired.
 
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half with the Sea Warriors only shooting 29% (9-31) while the Pioneers only shot 30.3% (10-33) from the field.
 
After the Pioneers briefly tied the score in the second half, the Sea Warriors went on a 10-2 run that featured three-pointers from Savini and Hale, along with a jumper from the free throw line by Morganne Comstock. With 9:58 to play the Sea Warriors held a 50-41 lead.
 
Not heading back to Ohio without a fight, the Pioneers scrapped their way back to tie the score on a three-pointer with 2:52 to play. Hale responded with her fourth three-pointer of the game on the next possession, but Malone was able to take the lead on a pair of free throws with 48 seconds to play. Comstock then hit a jumper on the following possession, but Malone answered again by tying the game at the free throw line with 30 seconds remaining.
 
The final 10 seconds of the game was intense with a touch of the bizarre.
 
With the shot clock winding down Laken McClelland improvised and beat her defender off the dribble laying the ball in with her left hand to give HPU a 65-63 lead with eight seconds to play. With HPU playing it's defenders on the perimeter to stop a three-point shot,  Malone guard Sydnee Penn was able to slip by for an uncontested layup, but the ball happened to wedge between the rim and the backboard resulting in a dead ball jump ball. With the possession arrow in HPU's favor, the Pioneers were forced to foul on the inbounds where McClelland iced the game from the line.
 
Savini led all scorers with a game-high 17 points. McClelland registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Hale (14) and Navarro (10) were the other Sea Warriors scoring in double-figures, while Comstock pounded the glass grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
HPU Head Coach Reid Takatsuka commented on his team's performance before the holidays, "This was a nice team win before the break. We'll get a little rest and come back ready for a tough PacWest schedule in the New Year."
 
The Sea Warriors will return to action in 2014 when they face Academy of Art on January 4th in a rematch of the championship game of Pacific West Conference Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Blaisdell Arena.