SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Senior Breanna Mackenzie scored a career-high 27 points as Hawai'i Pacific University avenged two earlier losses to Dominican (Calif.) with an 84-66 triumph in the semifinals of the PacWest Conference Tournament played at DUC's Conlan Center.
 
The Sharks (22-8) advance to the PacWest Conference Tournament Championship Game for the second straight season. The Penguins (21-6), who tied for second with the Sharks for second in the PacWest at 18-4, wait for Sunday's NCAA Division II selection announcement.
 
Mackenzie, the All-PacWest First Team senior from Melbourne, Australia/Box Hill, raised career scoring to 1,466 points and is now 28 points away from tying the HPU career scoring record of 1,494 points held by Mana Hopkins. In addition to the 27 points she also collected six rebounds, a block and a steal.
 
Along with Mackenzie, the Sharks were led by sophomore Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion, who just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds to go with two blocks and a steal. Senior Samantha Lambrigtsen of Oregon, Ill./Oregon HS did double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds with four assists.  PacWest Freshman of the Year Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary dished out 10 assists, grabbed nine rebounds and scored six points. The three are All-PacWest Third Team selections. Junior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt chipped in 10 points in the victory.
 
Dominican was led by All-PacWest Conference First Teamer Natalie Diaz who double-doubled with 25 points and 12 rebounds, with three blocks and three assists. Marisa Mondave put up 18 points and six rebounds for the Penguins, and Alanna Scott added 16 points and six boards.
 
The Sharks shot 39 percent from the floor (33-of-84), including 10-of-33 (30 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU was 8-of-11 (73 percent) from the foul line. The Penguins were held below 30 percent from the field in the second half while going 22-of-59 (37 percent) for the game, making 7-of-17 (41 percent) from the arc. DUC collected 15-of-25 (60 percent) shot from the charity stripe. The Sharks outrebounded the taller Penguins 53-42, turning the ball over 11 times to DUC's 16.
 
The Sharks opened the game on a jumper from freshman Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic, only to see Scott grab the lead at home with a 3-pointer. It would be the Penguins only lead.
 
On the next possession, Noblett fed Mackenzie for a layup that started a 10-0 run that was capped by a pair of Rivera 3-pointers. DUC trimmed the lead to three before HPU rallied with a trio of treys in the final 40 seconds for a 9-1 run that Baum added the exclamation point just before the quarter horn for a 25-17 lead.
 
HPU extended its lead to 18 points in the second quarter following a 3-pointer from Lambrigtsen, but the Penguins cut the Sharks advantage to eight at halftime. HPU led 46-38 at the half.
 
The Sharks went on an 11-1 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter when Rivera's 3-pointer gave HPU a 57-39 lead. The Penguins cut the lead again, but to 11 at 63-52 after three.
 
The final quarter saw the Penguins make a push at the start, finishing an 8-0 run begun at the end of the third quarter to trail by five at 63-58 less than a minute into the quarter. HPU followed with a pair of layups, the last by Marcucci, to stem the tide.
 
The teams traded scores and Dominican pulled back within seven at 71-64 with 6:17 to play. That's when HPU put the game away.
 
Mackenzie hit a top of the key 3, then added a pair of free throws on the next possession to begin a 9-0 run and the Sharks held a double-digit lead the rest of the way. Angelica Collins added a jumper for DUC's only points in the last six minutes as Mackenzie and Lambrigtsen completed the 13-2 run to end the game.
 
The Sharks now face No. 23 Azusa Pacific (26-4) for the PacWest Conference Tournament Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Sharks and Cougars split their two games this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. HST (4:30 PST) at the Conlan Center. A free video webstream from the PacWest Conference is available at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest, or the game can be seen on the PacWest Conference channel on Roku devices.