IRVINE, Calif. — Hawai'i Pacific University used a 12-4 run over the last half of the second quarter to propel the Sharks to a 74-56 win over Dominican (Calf.) in the quarterfinals of PacWest Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Concordia University Arena.
 
The third seeded Sharks (21-5) advance to meet the second seed Point Loma (23-4) in the PacWest semfinals on Friday at 10:30 a.m. HST (12:30 p.m. PST). The sixth seeded Penguins (16-12) end the season with the loss.
 
 "This was a game we had to have and we took care of business," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "They beat us last year and we didn't want that to happen again."
 
The Sharks were paced by the play of All-PacWest Third Team senior guard VeAnne Navarro of Modesto, Calif., who posted 14 points with two steals. All-PacWest honorable mention forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, added 13 points with six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Junior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul scored 11 points with nine boards. Junior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville led the Sharks with 13 rebounds with six points.
 
Dominican was paced by All-PacWest First Teamer and Defender of the Year Sandra Ikeora with 34 points, 17 rebounds and four steals.
 
Thanks to a poor shooting fourth quarter, HPU shot 36 percent from the field (27-of-74) and 29 percent (4-of-14) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks went 16-of-21 (76 percent) from the foul line. Dominican shot 34 percent from the floor (21-of-62), and did not make a 3-point field goal on 15 attempts. The Penguins made 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the free throw line.
 
The contest was tight through the first quarter that saw four lead changes and five ties. Dominican took its final lead on a jumper by Jade Castro with 4:03 to go in the opening quarter for a 14-13 advantage. HPU tied the game when Reeves hit one of two free throws seven seconds later. The Sharks got two more free throws with 3:28 to play by senior Samantha Campos and never trailed again, holding a 23-20 lead at the half.
 
The used a 9-2 run to open up a 10-point advantage at 32-22, only to see a mini run by DUC on Ikeora's free throws and jumper. That's when HPU got a layup by Reeves with 4:19 to go in the quarter to start the 12-4 run and went to the half on All-PacWest Conference First Team junior guard Breanna Mackenzie's 3-pointer for a 44-30 lead.
 
The Sharks opened their lead to 19-points to start the third quarter, but the Penguins fought their way back to trail by 15 at 58-43 at the end of the third.
 
The Penguins got the lead down to 12 points in the fourth quarter with 2:51 to play on an Ikeora free throw. But the Sharks refused to allow it to get closer, going on 6-0 run and controlling the ball to end the game at 74-56.
 
"We worked hard and trying to keep Ikeora off the boards with our inside players," said Gray after the game. "That allowed the guards to get more boards and I was fortunate to get a lot of them."
 
The Sharks are looking to even the season against Point Loma in the semifinals on Friday. It was HPU's 68-58 loss to the SeaLions on Feb. 16 in Honolulu that kept the Sharks from earning the second seed in the tournament. Point Loma received the second seed and the quarterfinal bye with the win.