SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University saw its six-game winning streak come to a close on Wednesday afternoon as Dominican (Calif.) defeated HPU 77-62 in PacWest Conference play at the Conlan Center.
 
The defending PacWest Conference Champion Sharks (7-5, 5-1) lost for the first time in the PacWest Conference this season, while the Penguins (9-2, 6-1) won their third straight contest.
 
Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen from Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS paced the Sharks with 18 points to go with five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill added 10 points with five boards and two assists. Freshman Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic led HPU with nine rebounds while posting seven points.
 
PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Natalie Diaz led Dominican by double-doubling with 29 points and 11 rebounds to go with six blocked shots, two steals and two assists. Alanna Scott added 18 points with three steals.
 
The Sharks shot 31 percent from the floor (21-of-68), including 33 percent from the 3-point arc (8-of-24). HPU hit 12-of-17 (71 percent) from the free throw line. DUC connected on 50 percent from the field (26-of-52), and 46 percent (6-of-13) from the arc. The Penguins were 19-of-36 (53 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
HPU saw Dominican jump out to an eight-point lead midway through the first quarter before rallying in the closing stages of the period with an 9-2 run. Freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary closed the quarter with a 3-pointer by to make it a one-point deficit at 16-15.
 
The Sharks opened the second period with a triple from Mackenzie to make the run 10-2 and give the Sharks a lead at 18-16. After a Diaz trey, sophmore Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro sank a layup for a 20-19 HPU advantage. But the last HPU lead wouldn't last long as Vanessa Cruz followed with a 3-pointer and DUC never trailed again. The Penguins went on an 11-3 run midway through the quarter to take and 11-point advantage, then after a triple from Marcucci, closed the half on a 5-0 run to go down 45-29.
 
Dominican opened the lead to 19 points in the third quarter, only to have the Sharks get a 3-ball late in the quarter from freshman Lauryn Hippolite of Nelson, New Zealand/Middleton Grange and help pull HPU within 14 at 66-52.
 
The Penguins took advantage of free throws to push their lead to 21-points in the final frame, but the Sharks cut the deficit back to 15 at the buzzer, falling 77-62.
 
The Sharks continue their northern California road swing on Friday when they travel to Fresno Pacific to face the Sunbirds for a second time this season. Tipoff at 12:30 p.m. HST (2:30 PST) at the FPU Special Events Center.