HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University got a layup to tie the game with 6.4 seconds in regulation, then went on an 8-2 run in overtime to defeat Point Loma 78-72 in PacWest Conference play on Tuesday night at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.
 
The defending PacWest Conference Champion Sharks (10-5, 8-1) picked up their third straight win while spoiling the upset bid of the Sea Lions (6-10, 5-5) who dropped its second straight game.
 
After Point Loma's Grace Brady missed a pair of free throws with 11.5 seconds in regulation up 70-68, the Sharks Breanna Mackenzie got the rebound, then scored the layup with 6.4 to send the game to overtime. She collected a second layup to start the extra frame and HPU never trailed again.
 
Sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion led the Sharks with a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds. Mackenzie, a senior from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill collected 19 points with three boards and three assists. Sophomore McKenzie Alton of Sammamish, Wash./Bellarmine Prep came off the bench with 12 points and led the Sharks with eight rebounds, while freshman Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic aPdded 10 points.
 
PLNU was led by Sydney Peterson with 19 points, with Carol Schroeder scoring 17 points with five rebounds. Cara Liggins added 14 points with seven boards. Brady just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds with five assists.
 
The Sharks shot 41 percent from the floor (28-of-68), with 6-of-21 (29 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU connected on 72 percent (16-of-22) of its attempts from the foul line. HPU held PLNU to just 36 percent from the field (22-of-62), but the Sea Lions posted 8-of-19 (42 percent) from the arc. The Sea Lions were 20-of-31 (65 percent) from the charity stripe. HPU took the battle of the boards 46-44, with both teams suffering 14 turnovers.
 
Point Loma started the game on a 9-0 run and kept that lead twice more in the first quarter, the last on Brady's jumper from the baseline for a 13-4 lead. The Sharks answered with a 11-5 run to end the quarter on a jumper from junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt to trail 19-16 after the first.
 
HPU fell behind by seven early in the second quarter, but chipped away at the PLNU lead until tying the game for the first time at 30-all on a Marcucci 3-pointer with 4:07 in the half, and taking a lead for the first time on a pair of free throws by senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS with 2:47 in the quarter. The Sea Lions rallied to go back up by three before freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary raced down court for a layup just before the halftime buzzer to trail 37-36.
 
The lead changed three times in the third quarter, with Point Loma's five-point quarter lead falling victim to HPU's comeback with a Lambrigtsen triple giving the Sharks a 54-52 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
HPU led by four at 56-52 early in the fourth, before a 12-5 run by PLNU gave the Sea Lions a 64-59 lead with five minutes to play on Yuendie Guridi's 3-pointer. But HPU rallied with a layup from Noblett and a 3-pointer from Mackenzie to knot the contest with 3:14 left. The teams traded scores until Mackenzie's layup with 6.4 in regulation.
 
HPU got the layup from Mackenzie and a free throw from Alton to take a three-point lead in overtime, only to have that advantage cut to one after a pair of Brady free throws with 1:45 left. But when Marcucci answered with a traditional layup-free throw 3-point play 20 seconds later, the Sharks never let the momentum go.
 
HPU never allowed a Sea Lion field goal in the extra frame and sealed the contest with the Sharks biggest lead on a Noblett layup in the final minute for the 78-72 win.
 
The Sharks don't have much time to enjoy the win as they continue the short homestand by facing Concordia Irvine on Thursday evening at 4:30 at the Blaisdell.