HONOLULU – The Hawai'i Pacific University women's nine-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday evening as Dominican (Calif.) dropped HPU 97-86 in PacWest Conference play at the Neal S.. Blaisdell Center.
 
The Sharks (16-6, 14-2) fell for the first time since falling to the Penguins (17-3, 14-2) in January. The Penguins won their fourth straight contest and moved into a tie for second with the Sharks. It was the fourth-highest point total allowed by the HPU women and the most allowed since a 109-83 loss at then No. 3 Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 21, 2014.
 
Dominican dominated in the game, trailing the Sharks just once in the opening minute, then taking control of the game.
 
Freshman Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary had the best game of her young career, just missing a triple-double with career-highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds, to go with nine assists and six steals. Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS scored 16 points, while junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt added 11 points. Senior Breanna Mackenzie of Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill posted 10 points, four rebounds and three steals, as sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion chipped in 10 points and six rebounds with two blocks.
 
Dominican was led off the bench by Marisa Mondave with a double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds, with three steals, three assists and a block. Natalie Diaz scored 28 points with five rebounds, three assists and a block, while Alanna Scott pitched in 27 points with two steals. The trio were the only Penguins with more than four points.
 
HPU shot 42 percent from the floor (31-of-74), including 10-of-33 (30 percent) from the 3-point arc. Dominican shot 55 percent (28-of-51), with 10-of-15 (67 percent) from the arc. The big difference in the game came at the foul line, where the Penguins made 31-of-39 (80 percent) and the Sharks nailed 14-of-17 (82 percent). HPU outrebounded DUC 37-34 and both teams had 19 turnovers.
 
The Penguins opened the game with a free throw from an administrative technical foul, but the Sharks hit their first shot from Lambrigtsen to take a 2-1 lead. That was the only time in the game that HPU would lead. After both teams turned the ball over, Mondave scored the first of her 30 points on a 3-point jumper to give DUC a 4-2 lead and start an 11-0 run. HPU cut that lead to six before Mondave buried another three in the closing moments for a 22-13 lead after one quarter.
 
Dominican built their lead to 17 in the midway through the second quarter before the Sharks chipped away at the lead and pulled within eight on Lambrigtsen's layup just before the horn to trail 44-36 at the half.
 
Dominican used the third quarter to claim an insurmountable advantage, first with an 11-2 run, then with an 11-0 run to build a 25-point lead on a Vanessa Cruz jumper with 38 seconds remaining. Marcucci followed with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play to cut the lead to 70-48 at the end of three quarters.
 
The Sharks made a move in the final period, first trimming the lead to 11 on a 3-pointer from Marcucci, and later adding a 5-0 run by Baum to trim the lead to seven at 85-78 with 1:41 to play.
 
However, the Sharks needed to foul and the Penguins were up to the task, hitting 12-of-16 in the last 100 seconds. A 3-pointer from Rivera with six seconds to play to make the final 97-86.
 
The Sharks close their five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when they host Academy of Art at Moanalua High School Gym. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.