HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University went into the holiday break on a high-note as the Sharks beat Ursuline (Ohio) 75-64 Sunday evening in the Oahu Classic at Saint Francis School Gym.
 
The Sharks (6-2, 3-0 PacWest) won their sixth straight, while Ursuline (6-5) dropped its second straight contest.
 
"We played a good game against a good team," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "You always worry about a game heading into a break, but I was pleased how we kept our focus all the way through the game."
 
There were only two lead changes, both in the first quarter, with HPU leading for all but 10 seconds in the contest.
 
The Sharks were paced by the scoring of junior guard Breanna Mackenzie from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill, who chalked up 16 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Junior center Sarah Liva of Mililani, Hawai'i/Mililani picked up 15 points with four assists, while senior guard VeAnne Navarro of Modesto, Calif./Modesto Christian, added 12 points and junior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville tallied 10 points with four assists.
 
Ursuline was paced by Laney Lewis who double-doubled with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Erica Huber chipped in 17 points with seven boards.
 
HPU shot 43 percent (30-of-70) from the floor, 31 percent (9-of-29) from the 3-point arc and 6-of-8 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
 
The Arrows shot only 33 percent (20-of-60) from the field, 35 percent (7-of-20) from the arc and 17-of-22 (77 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU won the battle of the boards 46-34 and suffered 16 turnovers to the Arrows 15.
 
The Sharks opened on a 4-0 run and held a 6-2 advantage before Ursuline made a quick 5-0 run to take a 7-6 lead with 5:28 to play in the quarter. But that lead held just 10 seconds before Gray buried the Sharks first 3-pointer of the game and it was followed by a jumper by senior Cece Pearl of Peoria, Ariz./Peoria and kick started a 13-0 run that the Arrows never recovered from.
 
HPU led 19-11 after the first, before Ursuline attempted a comeback with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 21-20 at the midway point of the quarter. HPU answered with a 7-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Navarro and a steal and layup by Mackenzie to keep the Arrows at bay. Navarro's 3-pointer at the buzzer put HPU up by nine at the half, 35-26.
 
The teams played nearly even through the third with HPU holding a 54-44 advantage. The Sharks pushed it up to a 16-point advantage in the first third of the fourth period, and maintained a comfortable lead on the way to a 75-64 win.
 
The Sharks will take some time off for the holidays the next two weeks and will return to competition on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they return to PacWest Conference action against California Baptist. Tipoff against CBU is at 4:30 p.m. at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.