HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University rolled to a school record tying 12th straight victory as the Sharks chomped cross-town rival Chaminade 73-42 in PacWest action Saturday afternoon at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (16-2, 10-1) overcame a sluggish start, then accelerated to equal the 12-game winning streak set in the 2010-11 season. The Silverswords (1-13, 1-11) were held to their lowest scoring output of the season as they dropped their ninth straight game.
 
 "We didn't let a bad start rattle us, and we came back strong," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We kept everything together and played a strong game to put it away in the third quarter. I'm proud of them."
 
Freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion, led the Shark attack, just missing a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul, tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with three blocked shots that equaled a career-high. Junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco/St. Ignatius, added 13 points, while senior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville, dished out six assists.
 
The Silverswords were led by Destiny Castro with 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Diamond Carter added nine points and four rebounds.
 
HPU shot only 38 percent from the field (24-of-63), including 7-of-23 (30 percent) from the 3-point arc. But the Sharks nailed 18-of-20 free throws (90 percent). The HPU defense held Chaminade to just 26 percent from the floor (14-of-53) and 20 percent (3-of-15) from the 3-point arc. The Silverswords made 11-of-12 (92 percent) from the foul line. HPU dominated the boards, 46-34 and got 21 points off the 17 CUH turnovers, while the Swords collected four points from the Sharks 12 turnovers.
 
Chaminade jumped out to the early lead as Carter hit a pair of free throws and dumped in a layup in the first two minutes of the game to put the Swords up 4-0. The Sharks answered with a 3-pointer from Marcucci before Castro gave CUH a 6-3 advantage with a layup.
 
HPU tied the game on a tradition layup-free throw 3-point play from freshman Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro with 5:18 left in the opening quarter that started a 9-0 run for the Sharks. When Gambee, who scored seven of her eight points in the run, got a layup with 4:46 remaining in the quarter to put HPU up 8-6, HPU never trailed again.  The Sharks took a 12-8 lead into the quarter break.
 
The Silverswords used a 5-1 run by Castro to start the second quarter and tie the Sharks at 13-all at the 8:18 mark, but would be the last tie of the contest. The Sharks rattled off an 8-0 run for a 21-13 advantage on a Reeves layup, but the Swords came right back with 3-balls from Alana Nuuanu and Castro to pull back to 21-19. HPU answered the call with a 14-0 run over the next five-and-a half minutes before the Swords got a 3-pointer from Alicia Dugan just before the buzzer sent HPU into the half with a 33-24 lead.
 
Reeves opened the second half with a layup for the Sharks that keyed an 11-2 run capped by a layup from junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, and the Sharks were on their way. HPU added an 8-1 run to closed the third quarter with a 52-29 lead.
 
A 12-2 run at the start of the final quarter put HPU up by 30-plus on the Silverswords midway through the frame. The squads played even the rest of the way as the Sharks finished with the 73-42 victory.
 
The PacWest leading Sharks, who were just under the WBCA's Top 25 entering this week, are back on the court Thursday when they host Dominican (Calif.). Tipoff at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center is slated for 4:30 p.m.