HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University never trailed as they dominated Saint Martin's 86-67 in non-conference action as part of the Malika Sports Oahu Christmas Classic on Saturday afternoon at St. Francis School.
 
The defending PacWest Conference Champion Sharks (6-4, 4-0 PacWest) won their fifth straight contest as they snapped the two-game win streak of the Saints (3-6, 1-1 Great Northwest).
 
"We played well and got a good performance from everyone on the team," said HPU coach Reid Takatsuka. "This was a great way to go into our holiday break."
 
Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen from Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS just missed a double-double in leading the Sharks, matching her career-high with 23 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion collected 18 points in going 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc and added five rebounds and four steals. Freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary added 11 points with five boards, a game-high five assists, one block and one steal. Senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill scored 10 points with three rebounds and three steals.
 
Saint Martin's got 34 of their 67 points from Saniah Simpson-Patu, who also grabbed two rebounds, with three assists, a block and a steal. Claire Dingus picked up 11 points with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Bria Thames came off the bench with nine points and six rebounds.
 
The Sharks hit 47 percent from the floor (29-of-62), including a season-best 48 percent (10-of-21) from the 3-point arc. HPU also made 18-of-23 shot from the free throw line (78 percent). SMU finished the game shooting 40 percent (26-of-65) from the floor after shooting eight percent in the first quarter. The Saints also hit 4-of-19 (21 percent) from the arc and 69 percent (11-of-16) from the foul line. HPU edged Saint Martin's on the boards 39-37, but SMU suffered 18 turnovers to HPU's 14.
 
 
The Sharks all but put away the game early, using a Lambrigtsen jumper to open the game with a 9-0 run. After a layup from the Saints Megan Nilsson, HPU responded with a 7-1 run that included a Mackenzie 3-pointer to close the quarter with a 16-3 lead. The Saints never got within 10 points the rest of the game.
 
HPU opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to give HPU a 21-point lead after a pair of free throws by Lambrigtsen. A layup by Mackenzie gave HPU a 25-point advantage, but after seeing the Saints chip away a bit at the lead, it was a Marcucci 3-pointer that swished the net with the horn sounding that put the Sharks up 41-16 at halftime.
 
Saint Martin's made some headway in the third quarter, outscoring HPU 23-16. First by using a 9-2 run to start the third on the back of Simpson-Patu who had seven of the points in the run. HPU returned the favor, with a 10-2 run capped by a Baum 3-pointer for a 53-27, 26-point lead with 6:15 remaining in the third. The pendulum swung again with a Saints 12-4 run that finished with a 3-pointer from Sara Bowen that ended the third with HPU up 57-39.
 
HPU put the lead back to 24 with 5:06 remaining in the game after a layup by Marcucci, but the Saints weren't finished. Still holding a 24-point lead, SMU went on a 15-6 run to cut the Sharks advantage to 15 at 80-65 on a triple by Simpson-Patu with 2:00 to play. HPU finished with a 6-2 run to win 86-67.
 
With the victory, the Sharks take a two-week holiday break before returning to the competitive hardwood. HPU starts a PacWest Conference northern California trip when it returns by visiting San Francisco to take on Academy of Art on Dec. 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. HST (1 p.m. PST) at Kezar Pavilion.