HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University hung with the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine for most of the game, but UH opened it a bit late as Hawai'i downed HPU 67-57 on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Sharks (8-2, 2-1 PacWest) played the game as an exhibition affair. The Rainbow Wahine (7-6) closed their non-conference portion of the season with a win.
 
 "We battled hard against a good Division I team," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "This was a great chance to play against strong competition that will help us get back into the swing of PacWest play."
 
The Sharks were paced by the play of junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon. Lambrigtsen scored 14 points, while junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, added 11 points, while senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul chipped in 10 points with seven rebounds.
 
The Rainbow Wahine were led by Sarah Toeaina with 15 points along with six rebounds, while Lahni Salanoa chalked up 10 points with a game-high nine rebounds. Julissa Tago and Tia Kanoa each added 10 points as well.
 
The Sharks outshot UH from the floor, hitting 43 percent (23-of-54) including 29 percent (4-of-14) from the 3-point arc. UH connected on 39 percent from the field (22-of-57), with 31 percent (4-of-13) from the arc. The difference in the game was that HPU hit 7-of-9 from the foul line (78 percent), while the Rainbow Wahine connected on 19-of-30 (63 percent) from the charity stripe. UH outrebounded HPU 39-to-24. HPU collected 14 points off the 15 Hawai'i turnovers, while the Wahine tallied eight points from the Sharks 14 giveaways.
 
The Rainbow Wahine jumped out in front early, using a 5-0 run to take command. UH still held a five-point, 9-4 lead when HPU went on a 7-2 run to tie the game on a 3-pointer from Fotu to knot the game at 11 with 1:43 left in the first. UH's Lauren Rewers layup about a minute later gave the home team a 13-11 lead after one quarter.
 
In the second quarter, HPU made fought for the lead three times. The Sharks grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt for a 14-13 advantage. UH answered with a jumper from Kanoa. Then Reeves followed with a jumper in the paint to put the Sharks back up 16-15, only to have Toeaina follow with a layup.
 
The Sharks got their final advantage on a Lambrigtsen 3-pointer for a 19-17 lead with 7:02 to go in the half. The Wahine followed the a Salanoa triple to retake the lead at 20-19 before Lambrigtsen tied it with a free throw to make it 20-20. UH got a layup from Kanoa and a 3-pointer from Julissa Tago for a 25-20 lead and carried the advantage the rest of the half, posting a 29-26 lead at intermission.
 
The Sharks saw UH open up an 10-point lead in the third quarter before a layup by freshman forward Jessica Harley of Melbourne, Australia/Caulfield Grammar keyed a 12-2 run. When Fotu buried a jumper with 2:07 left in the third, HPU tied the game at 42-all. The Wahine got two free throws from Toeaina, just to have junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius come back with a driving layup to tie the game at 44 with 1:26 in the period.
 
But that would be the Sharks last tie. UH went on a 5-0 run to end the quarter and take a 49-46 lead after three.
 
In the fourth, the Rainbow Wahine went on a 9-3 run to open the quarter for an 11-point lead to take control of the game. The Sharks rallied with a layup and foul shot by Lambrigtsen and a layup by Reeves to pull within six at 58-52 at the official timeout with 4:37 to go. However, UH made 9-of-10 free throws in the last three-and-a half minutes as HPU got only a layup from Fotu and a final 3-pointer from freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion for the final of 67-57.
 
The Sharks resume PacWest Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 3 when they host Academy of Art in the first game of a women's/men's doubleheader at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.
 
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