LA MIRADA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University built a 22-point third quarter lead, then had to hang on to withstand a wild comeback attempt as HPU beat Biola 59-52 in PacWest Conference play on Saturday evening at Chase Gymnasium.
 
The Sharks (19-8, 17-4) held on to third place in the PacWest race, while the Eagles (10-16, 8-12) are in seventh in the league race but are ineligible for the PacWest tournament while gaining full NCAA Division II membership.
 
The Sharks had a 22-point lead with 7:33 to play in the third quarter, and an 18-point 52-34 lead with 9:09 to play. But the Eagles followed with a 10-0 fourth quarter run and trimmed the HPU lead to three at 55-52 after an Aysia Johnson layup with 14 seconds to go. But the Sharks hit all four free throws in the waning seconds as Biola had to foul and held on for the win.
 
The Sharks were led by senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS with 14 points and three steals, while sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion added 11 points with six rebounds and three steals and senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill with 10 points, four assists, a block and two steals. Freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary led the squad with seven rebounds to go with eight points and a block.
 
Biola was led by Tatum Brimley with 15 points, while Jazz Benn tallied 14 points with six rebounds and a block. Danita Estorga collected nine points and six boards with a block.
 
The Sharks shot 40 percent from the floor in the contest (21-of-52), hitting 9-of-21 (43 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU also made 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line. Biola shot 37 percent (19-of-52) from the field, with 10-of-13 (33 percent) from the arc. The Eagles connected on 4-of-9 (44 percent) from the foul line. HPU outrebounded Biola 36-32 and won the turnover battle 17-21.
 
Despite the close call, the Sharks trailed only when Benn hit the Eagles first shot for a 3, then tied the game for the only time with an answering triple from Lambrigtsen 75 seconds into the game. That trey keyed a 15-3 run capped by another 3 from junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt for a 15-6 lead. HPU led 17-8 after the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, HPU extended the lead to 15 with 1:36 remaining on a pair of Lambrigtsen free throws, but a 3-pointer from Johnson cut the lead to 30-18 at the half.
 
The Sharks opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to grab a 22-point lead on a Marcucci 3-pointer for a 40-18 lead with 7:33 left in the period. After exchanging a few scores, the Eagles closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to bring the HPU lead back to 12 at 46-34.
 
HPU opened the final quarter with triples from freshmen Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic and Lauryn Hippolite of Nelson, New Zealand/Middleton Grange to go up by 18 at 52-34.  But when Benn hit a 3-pointer, the Eagles started a 10-0 run on a Johnson layup midway through the quarter. Lambrigtsen got the next score with 2:50 to play with a layup, but a pair of 3's by Brimley pulled the Eagles within four with 1:33 to play.
 
Lambrigtsen made one of two free throws with 24 seconds to play, to put the Sharks up by five at 55-50, then Johnson followed with a layup 10 seconds later. Needing to foul, the Eagles fouled Lambrigtsen who made both free throws with 11 seconds to play. BU missed a 3-pointer and fouled Marcucci with :03 to play. Marcucci made the free throws and gave the Sharks their final margin of victory at 59-52.
 
The Sharks have one last regular season game remaining as they return to Honolulu to face Notre Dame de Namur next Saturday, March 2, for senior day. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Moanalua High School gymnasium.