SAN DIEGO – Hawai'i Pacific University never trailed in running its winning streak to eight straight as the  Sharks ripped Point Loma 70-48 on Saturday afternoon at Golden Gym.
 
The Sharks (12-2, 6-1) extended the longest active winning streak in the PacWest with the win. The Sea Lions  (7-8, 4-3) dropped its third straight.
 
 "It's a great way to start the road trip," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We got out in front and kept it up. We did what we wanted to."
 
Freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion paced the Shark attack with 17 points and four steals. . Junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius and junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill., each added 10 points. Junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto chipped in nine points. Senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul led the Sharks with six rebounds.
 
Point Loma got a double-double from Roya Rustamzada with 11 points and 13 boards. Cara Liggins and Grace Brady each posted nine points with seven rebounds. Brady was also credited with four blocks.
 
The Sharks opened with a 4-0 run and held an advantage when the Sea Lions tied the game at 11 and 13 before Fotu buried a 3-pointer with 4:08 left in the period to go back up 16-13.  PLNU tied the game for the final time at 16 on a free throw by Liggins, only to have a Marcucci layup with 55 seconds remaining in the quarter gave the Sharks a lead they wouldn't relinquish at 18-16 to end the period.
 
The Sharks took control of the contest with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter, as Manzano started the run with a 3-pointer and sophomore guard Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt capped the run with a layup for an 11-point lead. The Sea Lions chipped the lead back only to have HPU get layups from Lambrigtsen and Marcucci to head into the half with a 12-point 37-25 lead. HPU led by double-digits the rest of the game.
 
In the third quarter the Sharks held the Sea Lions to just nine points in the period (the same as the second quarter). They extended the lead to 18 on a pair of 3-pointers from Marcucci, then pushed it to 21 on a pair of layups from Lambrigtsen for a 55-34 lead at the period break.
 
HPU remained steady through the final quarter, keeping the differential of 20-plus through the final five minutes of play.
 
The four-game Southern California road trip continues with game two on Monday evening when the Sharks face defending PacWest Champion California Baptist at the new CBU Event Center. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PST).