HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University won a school record 13th straight contest as they defeated Dominican (Calif.) 76-73 in PacWest Conference play on Thursday evening at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (17-2, 11-1) overcame a 10-point first quarter deficit to maintain their lead in the PacWest. The Penguins (14-7, 8-5) dropped their second straight game.
 
 "That was a good win tonight," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "We played tough down the stretch on both sides of the ball. We've got a target on our back and came through."
 
HPU used a 5-0 run to go up seven points with 17 seconds left, then held on to win by three to extend its winning streak to 13 to pass the 12-game win streak set in 2010-11.
 
Freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion, and junior guard Janessa Manzano of San Francisco/St. Ignatius, led the offensive effort with 18 points each with Marcucci adding eight rebounds. Junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon, collected 13 points with senior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville, tallied 11 points. Junior forward Gabriella Fotu of Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with three blocks and a steal.
 
Dominican was led by Natalie Diaz with 19 points, while Julia Razo double-doubled 17 points and 10 rebounds. Alanna Scott, Vanessa Cruz and Sydney Larocca all added nine points.
 
The Sharks shot only 36 percent from the floor (25-of-69), and 28 percent from the 3-point arc – but made 7-of-25 from long range. HPU also connected on 19-of-25 (76 percent) from the free throw line. Dominican hit 41 percent (21-of-51), including 4-of-10 (40 percent) from the arc. The Penguins made 27-of-39 shots from the charity stripe (69 percent). HPU outrebounded Dominican 44-39.
 
HPU trailed after the third quarter 54-53 and fell behind by two before tying the game at 55 on a pair of Gray free throws with nine minutes to play. But after a Dominican miss, Marcucci drained a 3-pointer with 8:43 to go and never trailed again.
 
Dominican kept it close and pulled back within two on a Razo free throw with 1:54 to play. But after a Marcucci layup and three of four free throws by Gray the Sharks built a seven-point lead with 17 seconds remaining. Gray added another free throw and held on through a layup from Alyssa Lorenzo and 3-pointer from Scott to hold on to the 76-73 win.
 
The Sharks fell behind early, as Dominican built an early 10-point 14-4 lead on a Razo layup with 3:36 remaining in the first. HPU rallied with a 10-0 run over the next 90 seconds to tie the game thanks to four free throws by Fotu and a pair of Manzano 3-pointers. After falling behind by three again, a third Manzano triple tied the contest at 19 after the first quarter.
 
The Penguins went back up by six in the second quarter when the Sharks replied with a 7-0 run to take a lead only to have a Diaz free throw send the teams to the half tied at 34.
 
The Sharks built a five-point lead twice in the third quarter, only to have Dominican post a 7-0 run capped by a Cruz layup for the 54-53 advantage that set up the exciting finish.
 
The first place Sharks continue their four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when they meet Dixie State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Moanalua High School.