HONOLULU – Nationally ranked Hawai'i Pacific University set five school records on the way to its 10th straight victory with a 115-84 triumph in PacWest Conference play against Dominican (Calif.) on Saturday afternoon at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (14-1, 9-0), ranked 11th in the WBCA Division II Coaches poll and 12th in the D2SIDA poll, broke open a close game with the Penguins (5-8, 2-5) thanks to a school record 45 point second quarter.
 
HPU also gained its first-ever women's triple-double as sophomore Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary, collected 18 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists for the contest. The Sharks also set new school records for most points in a game (115, old mark 111 vs. Dominican on Feb. 11, 2012), most points in a half (65, old record 57 vs. Dominican on Feb. 11, 2012 and Holy Names on Feb. 28, 2015), and most assists (40, old record 29 made three times the last against Dominican on Feb. 24, 2015).
 
The Sharks were led in scoring by senior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt, who collected a career-high 31 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds. Sophomore Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley came off the bench with 19 points and six assists, while Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion added 15 points with four steals. Baum also recorded three blocks and four steals for the Sharks.
 
The Penguins were paced by Jerusha Paine who scored 29 points with eight rebounds. Marisa Mondave chalked up 24 points with six boards.
 
The Sharks shot 52 percent from the field (46-of-88), including 12-of-25 (48 percent) from the 3-point arc. HPU hit 11-of-12 free throws (92 percent). The Penguins made 39 percent from the floor (22-of-56), but just 3-of-10 (30 percent) from the arc. DUC went 36-of-46 (78 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
The contest was tight in the first quarter, as HPU opened a five-point lead on a layup from junior Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro with 7:14 to go in the quarter for an 8-3 lead. The Penguins answered with a 5-0 run to grab a two-point 14-12 lead as the teams exchanged the lead three times and tied the contest four times with a Bates layup with nine second left knotted the score at 20-all after the first 10 minutes of action.
 
HPU grabbed the lead on a Marcucci layup to start the second period, only to have Paine hit two free throws to tie the contest at 22 with 8:57 to play. Then the Sharks went to work. After a 6-0 run to establish the lead for a final time, DUC interrupted the streak with a pair of Paine free throws. HPU responded with a 12-0 run capped by a Marcucci 3-pointer to lead by 16 with 5:18 to play in the half and held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
HPU added another 8-0 run in the next minute pushed the lead out to 28 points at 58-30 on a 3-pointer by Rivera with 1:50 to go in the half. The Penguins, who used all four of their timeouts in the second frame, tried to chop back at the Sharks who answered blow-for-blow as Baum hit a jumper just before the halftime buzzer for the 65-37 lead at intermission. When the dust cleared, HPU scored 45 points in the period and had already established two records in the game.
 
The Sharks continued to roll in the third quarter, building a 33 point advantage on a Rivera triple, only to have Dominican reply to make it 29 points on a Paine jumper. But a Bates fastbreak layup on a Baum rocket pass put HPU back up by 31 at 72-41 to maintain the 30-point threshold for the contest. HPU just missed the century mark in the third quarter, attaining a 98-54 lead on a Marcucci layup at the buzzer of the period.
 
HPU pushed its lead to 47 just 16 seconds into the final period when freshman Theresa Spatzier of Heidelberg, Germany/St. Raphael was fouled on a layup and made the free throw to complete the 3-point play for a 101-54 advantage. The Sharks saw another goal accomplished with 8:49 to play, when Baum collected an offensive rebound off a Spatzier 3-point attempt for her then 10th rebound to gain the triple-double. Starting off with a bench of nine, HPU suffered an injury and foul trouble and backed off a hard defense, allowing the Penguins to score as well. HPU did have two foul out and closed the game with just six players before the horn sounded on the 115-84 triumph.
 
HPU takes a bit of a break after five games in 10 days, but remains at home. The Sharks host cross-town rival Chaminade on Thursday evening to close their six-game homestand. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at The Shark Tank.