BELMONT, Calif.  – No. 23 Hawai'i Pacific University notched its 18th consecutive victory defeating Notre Dame de Namur a 76-62 PacWest Conference action Wednesday night at Gleason Gym.
 
The 23rd ranked Sharks (22-2, 16-1) extended their school record winning streak to 18 games. The Argonauts (10-16, 7-11) lost for the seventh time in the last eight games.
 
 "Notre Dame came out hard to start the game," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We just had to keep it together early and play our game. We knew we could get a run together and we did. I'm proud the way we are stepping up as a team ."
 
The Sharks were led by freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion, who collected a season-high 21 points with six rebounds and two steals. It was Marcucci's third 20-point effort of the season. Junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS, came off the bench with 19 points, with sophomore guard Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt scoring 10. Senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul, led the Sharks with nine rebounds to go with her seven points and five assists.
 
Notre Dame de Namur was led by Marissa Caballero with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Jerusha Paine double-doubled with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Sharks broke open a close game that featured 10 lead changes with a 14-1 run in the second quarter and never trailed again.
 
HPU used a pair of Marcucci layups to lead by four early, but the pesky Argos answered by taking the lead with a 5-0 capped by a Caballero layup and the teams swapped back-and-forth throughout the opening quarter. A Marcucci layup and two of three free throws from junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco/St. Ignatius gave HPU a 3-point lead before a Paine layup sent HPU to the quarter break up 15-14.
 
The Argos used a 5-2 run to open the second quarter to get a 19-17 lead with 8:19 remaining on a Caballero 3-pointer. That's when the Sharks made their move. Lambrigtsen got back-to-back layups on the next two possessions and started the 14-1 run capped by a Rivera triple for a 31-20 lead. The Sharks eventually built the advantage to 13 with 2:36 remaining on three Rivera free throws, however NDNU responded by going on a 6-0 run the rest of the way and HPU held a 36-29 advantage at the half.
 
HPU's lead was trimmed to five midway through the third quarter. The Sharks pushed the advantage back to eight and took control with a 9-0 run to grab a 17-point lead on a pair of Lambrightsen free throws. The Argos would trim the lead back to 13 at the end of the period as HPU led 58-45.
 
The Argos had one final push to start the fourth quarter, cutting HPU's advantage to nine at 60-51 with 7:11 to play. Rivera got a follow-up shot from a miss that put the Sharks back up by double digits and started the 11-0 put-away run that gave HPU a 72-51 lead on a Lambrigtsen 3-pointer with 2:52 to go.
 
The Sharks rode out the lead the rest of the way for the 76-62 triumph.
 
No. 23 HPU has one last game on this four-game mainland trip. The Sharks travel to St. George, Utah to face Dixie State on Saturday. With Dixie State headed to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference next season, it's the Sharks final visit to Burns Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. HST (5:30 MST).