ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Hawai'i Pacific University used a 9-0 run at the start of the final quarter to shoot past Central Washington on the way to an 81-76 non-conference victory at the Central Washington Crossover on Saturday evening at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Sharks (2-0) battled the Wildcats (1-1) through 10 lead changes and 18 ties, but never trailed after taking the lead with 7:42 to play.
 
The Sharks were paced by the duo of junior Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion and sophomore Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary, who both scored 24 points to lead all scorers. Baum led the Sharks with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Marcucci added five boards with two steals. Sophomore Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic chipped in 13 points with five boards, while sophomore Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley added 11 points with three assists and two steals.
 
The Wildcats were led by a pair of double-doubles, as Samantha Bowman scored 22 points with 12 rebounds and three blocks, as Alexis Pana pumped in 16 points with 10 boards and five assists. Taylor Shaw scored 15 points and Kaelie Flores 13 points for CWU.
 
The Sharks shot 46 percent from the floor (30-of-65), including 7-of-20 (35 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU hit 14-of-18 (78 percent) from the foul line. Central Washington connected on 47 percent from the field (27-of-57), with 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the arc. The Wildcats made 14-of-18 (78 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
 
Central Washington won the rebound battle 35-31, but the Sharks only turned the ball over 10 times compared to the 20 giveaways by CWU.
 
HPU trailed by one after the opening quarter, then used a Marcucci 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run in the last four minutes of the second quarter to grab the lead. HPU went into halftime up 41-38.
 
HPU built an eight-point advantage midway through the third quarter only to have the Wildcats use an 18-6 run to take a four-point 63-59 lead at the end of the period.
 
The Sharks recovered to open the quarter on a 9-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Noblett. HPU pushed the lead to seven at 74-67 with 92 seconds to play on a Baum jumper, then fought off a Central Washington push. Bowman scored a layup in the final second that cut the Sharks back to the 81-76 final.
 
The Sharks extend their Pacific Northwest trip by venturing into Canada to face Simon Fraser. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. HST (Noon PST) at West Gym in Burnaby, B.C.