HONOLULU – The Hawai'i Pacific University women won their fourth straight as they shut down Holy Names 68-48 in PacWest Conference action on Thursday night at Moanalua High School Gym.
 
The defending PacWest Conference Champion Sharks (5-4, 4-0) remained unbeaten in conference play while the Hawks (0-9, 0-4) remained winless on the season.
 
"We did what we needed to do to get the win," said HPU coach Reid Takatsuka. "I was pleased at the way we defended and played together."
 
Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen from Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS led the Sharks with 17 points and three assists. Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion collected 16 points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt added nine points. Senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill chalked up her fifth career double-digit rebounding contest with a game-high 12 boards. The game's most interesting line came from freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary who had eight points with seven rebounds, seven assists and eight steals. Freshman Abby Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic tallied eight points with eight boards.
 
Holy Names' Ariana Hernandez hit 7-of-16 from the 3-point arc to lead scorers with 21 points. Gernijah Martin posted eight points with a team-high five rebounds.
 
HPU connected on 25-of-62 (40 percent) of its shots from the floor, including 10-of-31 (32 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks made 8-of-11 free throws (73 percent). Holy Names shot 31 percent (17-of-55) from the floor and matched the Sharks by hitting 10-of-31 (32 percent) from the arc. The Hawks were 4-of-8 (50 percent) from the foul line. HPU bettered the Hawks on the glass 44-36, and suffered 14 turnovers to HNU's 19.
 
The Hawks got an early lead on a free throw from Onjalise Carley-Hillard and a 3-pointer from Hernandez to go up 4-0. After a pair of Lambrigtsen free throws and a layup from HNU's Jaliah Williams remained up four at 6-2. That's when Lambrigtsen got a layup and Mackenzie added a 3-pointer to give HPU the lead and started a 12-0 as the Sharks built a lead they never gave up. Still, treys by Jahna Maramba and Hernandez pulled the Hawks to within three at 15-12 at the quarter.
 
HNU kept it close through the first four minutes of the second quarter until a Marcucci jumper keyed an 11-0 run that put the Sharks up by double-digits to stay. A layup by freshman Lauryn Hippolite of Nelson, New Zealand/Middleton Grange with 24 seconds left in the half sent HPU to the locker room at halftime with a 36-22 lead.
 
Baum started the second half with a 3-pointer and a layup as HPU played dead-even in the third with the Hawks leading 48-34 at the quarter break.
 
The Sharks kept the game rolling as HPU opened the period on a 13-2 run establishing a 20-plus point lead. HPU held on after sophomore Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro got the Sharks last score before Hernandez nailed back-to-back triples to close the score at 68-48.
 
The Sharks close a four-games-in-seven days stretch on Saturday morning when they square off with Saint Martin's in the Malika Sports Oahu Christmas Classic. Tipoff is at 11 a.m. at Saint Francis School Gym.