HONOLULU — The Hawai'i Pacific University women rolled up their seventh straight win on Thursday night as the Sharks downed cross-island rival BYU-Hawaii 61-47 in PacWest Conference play at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (13-3, 10-1) never trailed after the first quarter. The Seasiders (8-9, 5-6) had its two-game win streak snapped.
 
"It was a win," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We didn't have a particularly strong game but we were able to play well enough to win."
 
The Sharks won without placing a single player in double figures in the scoring column. HPU was led by junior guard Breanna Mackenzie from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill, and sophomore guard Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, who each scored nine points, while sophomore guard Janessa Manzano from San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius, added eight points. Junior guard Spencer Gray from Centerville, Ohio/Centerville led HPU with seven rebounds.
 
BYU-H had a pair of double-doubles, with Kristin Baldwin leading the way with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Marian Sheikh posted 10 points and 10 boards, while Tyvvette White added 10 points.
 
The Sharks connected on just 34 percent of their shots from the field (21-of-62), including 5-of-24 (21 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU hit 14-of-25 free throws (56 percent). BYU-Hawaii shot 31 percent from the floor (18-of-59), with only 3-of-17 (18 percent) from the arc. BYU-H was 8-of-15 (53 percent) from the foul line.
 
The Seasiders outrebounded the Sharks 52-37, but HPU forced 21 turnovers from BYU-H, while suffering just eight.
 
The Sharks jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the opening quarter only to have BYU-Hawaii answer to tie the game. A free throw by Gray gave the lead back to HPU before the Seasiders Kendall Smiler got a layup for her only points in the game to give the lead to BYU-H at 7-6 with 25 seconds left in the quarter. That left just enough time for the Sharks to bounce back with a 3-pointer from senior forward Cece Pearl of Peoria, Ariz./Peoria that gave the Sharks a lead they wouldn't relinquish and a 9-7 lead after one.
 
The nip-and-tuck battle continued into the second quarter before the Sharks got a 9-0 run to open up the contest and take a 28-18 lead into halftime.
 
HPU opened the lead to 15 with 1:48 to go in the third quarter when BYU-Hawaii caught life and reeled off an 8-0 run, cutting the Shark advantage to seven at 40-33 at the quarter horn on a jumper by Maia Jean Watene.
 
The Seasiders stretched the run to 10-0 to start the final quarter, getting as close as 40-35 when the Sharks got a one of two free throws followed by a layup from freshman guard Danielle Iwami of Seal Beach, Calif., to start a 13-0 run. The run was capped by a 3-pointer from senior guard Brianne Yasukochi from Oceanside, Calif./LaJolla Country Day and gave HPU an 18-point lead with 3:11 to go. The Sharks finished with the 61-47 triumph.
 
The Sharks have a full week before their next outing. HPU starts a three-game Southern California road trip next Thursday evening in Riverside, Calif., when they visit No. 8 California Baptist in a 2 p.m. HST (4 p.m. PST) contest at Van Dyne Gym.