AZUSA, Calif. – No. 19 Hawai'i Pacific University dream season came to a bitter end on Friday afternoon as the seventh seeded Montana State Billings upset the second seeded Sharks 76-65 in the NCAA Division II West Region quarterfinals at the Felix Event Center.
 
The Sharks (26-4) saw the Yellowjackets (23-11) open the second quarter on a 15-4 run and HPU played catch up the rest of the way.
 
The Sharks pulled within five with 2:41 to play, but a the Jackets got a layup and free throw to start a 10-0 run down the stretch that put the game away.
 
 "I'm proud of my team," said HPU head coach Reid Takatsuka. "It was a special year. But today I think that Billings wanted it a little bit more than we did and it showed on the scoreboard. But with everything we accomplished this season, I'm very proud."
 
The Sharks were led by junior guard Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS who scored an HPU career-high 22 points and with a career-high five steals setting a team high for the year. Senior guard Spencer Gray of Centerville, Ohio/Centerville, closed her career with nine points and nine rebounds to go with a team high four assists. Freshman forward Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion, also scored nine points. Senior forward Jessi Reeves of Coffs Harbour, Australia/John Paul, closed her career with eight rebounds and six points.
 
Montana State Billings was led by senior Alisha Breen who double-doubled with 22 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists. Breen scored 16 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Jackets. Rylee Kane added 19 points and Vanessa Stavish 13 for MSUB.
 
The Sharks shot 38 percent from the floor (24-of-64), but only 3-of-15 (20 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU was 14-of-15 from the foul line. The Yellowjackets shot 40 percent from the field (26-of-65), and nailed 10-of-40 from the arc (40 percent). MSUB also connected on 14-of-18 (78 percent) from the charity stripe. A major part of the MSUB success was dominating the boards, bettering the Sharks by 13, 47-34. HPU suffered 12 turnover and force the Jackets into 16 to outscore MSUB 17-10 off turnovers.
 
The Sharks overcame an early four-point deficit in the first quarter, as Gray was fouled on a layup and made a traditional 3-point play with 2:16 to play in the quarter. That was followed by a Lambrigtsen 3-pointer to put HPU up 14-12 with 1:25 remaining in the period. But in a sign of things to come, Kane got a feed following a missed HPU field goal attempt and raced for a layup just before the quarter horn to tie the game at 14-all.
 
Then came the Montana State Billings run that put the Jackets up by eight and eventually 12 on a 3-pointer from Lexi Prevost with 3:51 to go in the half. The Sharks responded with a Gray layup that started a 9-0 run capped by a layup from freshman forward Jessica Harley of Melbourne, Australia/Caulfield Grammar that put HPU within three at 32-29 with 1:20 to go. However, Kane struck back on the next possession with a triple and a jumper that was countered by two Marcucci free throws to send the Sharks to the half trailing by six at 37-31.
 
HPU kept the game fairly close throughout the third quarter, but lost another point to the Jackets to trail by seven at 51-44.
 
In the final frame, the Sharks trailed by nine with 3:39 to go on a Breen 3-pointer, when HPU got a jumper from junior forward Gabriella Fotu from Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto, and a layup from Lambrigtsen to trail by five at 65-60 with 2:41 remain.
 
That would be as close as HPU would get, as Breen answered with a layup and free throw to go up by eight and start the 10-0 MSUB run that ended the HPU season.
 
The Sharks have plenty to be proud of in the 2017-18 season. HPU won the PacWest Conference Championship and Tournament Championship, posted a school record 26-4 season, ran off a school record 19-game winning streak, received its highest-ever ranking and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons. The Sharks also had the PacWest Coach of the Year and four players named to the All-PacWest Conference team.
 
HPU says "A Hui Hou" to seniors Reeves, Gray and Anna Mumm of Laguna Hills, Calif./Laguna Hills, but now looks forward to the next season.