HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University rallied from an early deficit to crush Holy Names 86-46 in PacWest Conference play Friday night at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (10-2, 4-1) won their sixth straight regular season contest. The Hawks (2-13, 1-6) lost for the eighth time in their last nine games.
 
 "We had great focus tonight," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We were locked in and really took care of business. We did what we needed to do."
 
Freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion led the Sharks with 17 points to go with six rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius, added 14 points, and junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt collected 11 points with four assists.
 
The Hawks were led by Nicole Machado-Potestio with nine points off the bench. Monica Valenzuela and Onjalise Carley-Hilliard each chipped in eight points. Sara Jones led HNU with a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
HPU shot 48 percent from the floor (30-of-62), including 10-of 22 (46 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks also connected on 16-of-21 (76 percent) from the free throw line. The Sharks held the Hawks to only 29 percent from the field (13-of-46), with just 19 percent from the arc (3-of-16). The Hawks hit 59 percent (17-of-29) from the line. HPU outrebounded HNU 40-35 and suffered 12 turnovers to the Hawks 20.
 
Holy Names jumped out to an early lead on a Carley-Hilliard layup two minutes in. The Sharks responded with a 7-0 run thanks in part to Manzano's free throws and layup to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Hawks got back within one midway through the quarter before HPU came back with an 11-2 run to claim a 19-9 lead after one.
 
HPU opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run and the game was never close again. The squads traded points before a jumper from Marcucci keyed another 9-0 run to put the Sharks up by 26 points before settling for a 42-18 lead at halftime.
 
The third quarter found the Sharks holding Holy Names to just nine points in the quarter again, while pouring in 31 points and playing everyone dressed on their 10-player active roster. A jumper from freshman forward Jessica Harley of Melbourne, Australia/Caulfield Grammar put HPU up by 30, and broke the 40-point margin on a 3 from junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill. The Sharks had a 73-27 advantage after three quarters.
 
The Hawks rallied in the fourth quarter with 19 points, while the Sharks just tried to hold run out the clock. HPU opened up the lead to 50 at 78-28 with 8:30 to go as senior forward  Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul put in a jumper from the wing, then continued to freely sub before coming out with the 40-point 86-46 victory.
 
HPU can't celebrate the win long, as the Sharks close out their homestand on Sunday afternoon against Notre Dame de Namur. The PacWest game tips at 1 p.m. at the Blaisdell.