SAN DIEGO – Hawai'i Pacific University shot just 29 percent from the floor and let a six-point first half lead slip away as Point Loma upset HPU 64-56 in PacWest Conference play on Thursday evening at Golden Gymnasium.
 
The Sharks (18-8, 16-4) slipped to third in the PacWest, while the Sea Lions (16-10, 15-5) are a game behind the Sharks in fourth place in the league.
 
The Sharks led by nine in the second quarter before PLNU trimmed the contest to a 2-point affair, 26-24 at the half. The teams swapped the lead in the third quarter and a 3-pointer by Breanna Mackenzie gave HPU a 45-44 lead on the first shot of the fourth quarter. But a 9-0 run after the halfway point of the final frame spelled doom for the Sharks who never got closer than five points down the stretch.
 
Mackenzie, a senior from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill, led the Sharks with 21 points and seven rebounds with two steals. Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS added 14 points, and sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion scored 10 points with two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
 
The Sea Lions got a pair of double-doubles in the win, and nearly a third. Sydney Peterson led PLNU with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Carol Schroeder posted 16 points and 10 boards with a block, and Cara Liggins tallied 14 points with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Grace Brady blocked three HPU shots.
 
HPU made 19-of-65 shots (29 percent), but 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU was 10-of-11 (91 percent) from the foul line. PLNU shot a little better, hitting 17-of-54 (32 percent), with 4-of-16 (25 percent) from the arc. The killer was the Sea Lions connecting on 26-of-30 (87 percent) from the charity stripe. Point Loma out rebounded HPU 54-33, with HPU turning the ball over just 11 times to the Sea Lions 15.
 
The Sharks went on an 11-1 run in the opening quarter capped by a 3-pointer from Marcucci to go up by eight at 13-5. The Sea Lions trimmed it back a bit, with HPU leading 15-9 after one quarter.
 
The Sharks got a triple from Lambrigtsen early in the second quarter to post an 18-9 lead with 8:06 to play, their largest advantage of the contest. The Sharks still had an eight-point lead with two minutes left in the half before the Sea Lions went on a 6-0 run to cut HPU lead to 26-24 at the half.
 
In the third quarter, the teams battled through six ties and five lead changes with Mackenzie getting a layup just before the buzzer as Point Loma led 44-42.
 
The fourth quarter opened with Mackenzie burying a 3-pointer for a 45-44 HPU lead. PLNU got a Liggins layup on the next possession and Lambrigtsen followed with a layup as HPU was up 47-46 with 8:38 to play. That would be the Sharks final lead.
 
Point Loma came back with a pair of layups from Yuendie Guridi, but HPU countered and with a Marcucci 3-pointer to knot the game at 50-all with 5:09 to go. But coming out of the media timeout, Peterson busted a triple, Schroeder hit a pair of free throws and Peterson canned another 3 to give the Sea Lions a 9-0 run and HPU never recovered. The Sharks got a pair of Lambrigtsen layups to pull within five at 59-54 with 1:28 to go, but could never get closer.
 
The free throw parade as the Sharks fouled to get the ball allowed PLNU to finish with a 64-56 win.
 
HPU has one final regular season road game, as the Sharks close their four-game southern California trip with a Saturday contest at Biola. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. HST (5:30 PST) at Chase Gymnasium.