HONOLULU – Nationally ranked Hawai'i Pacific University never trailed, but had to hold on down the stretch to beat Point Loma 69-64 in PacWest Conference action Monday evening at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (12-1, 7-0), ranked 14th in the WBCA Division II Coaches poll and 10th in the D2SIDA poll, won their eighth straight game with the triumph to remain alone on top of the PacWest. The Sea Lions (9-4, 5-2) fell for the second straight contest.
 
Neither team scored in the first three minutes of the game before HPU went on a 6-0 run and never trailed again.
 
Sophomore Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary, led the Sharks with 18 points to go with five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Senior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt, double-doubled with 15 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists. Sophomore Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic, posted 12 points with seven boards and four steals, while sophomore Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley, added 10 points and four assists off the bench.
 
The Sea Lions were led by Onjalise Carley-Hill with a game-high 27 points to with nine rebounds. Cara Liggins posted 13 points with eight boards and two blocks. Carol Schroeder also led PLNU with nine rebounds.
 
HPU shot 36 percent from the floor (25-of-69), that included 6-of-22 (27 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks shot an unusually low 62 percent (13-of-21) from the free throw line. Point Loma was held to shooting 33 percent (18-of-54), including 4-of-16 (25 percent) from the arc. The Sea Lions stayed in the contest by hitting 24-of-29 (83 percent) from the charity stripe. PLNU outrebounded HPU 52-34, but the Shark suffered just 11 turnovers to the Sea Lions 23.
 
The two teams played strong defense in the first three minutes of the contest, with neither team scoring. Then HPU opened the lid on the contest with junior Makenna Gambee of Hillsboro, Ore./Hillsboro dropping in a fast break layup off a pass from Baum. Baum followed with a steal and layup and added another layup to take the 6-0 advantage with 6:24 remaining in the period. The Sharks opened the lead to eight in the quarter with a Noblett layup before settling for a 16-12 lead at the quarter.
 
HPU went on a 7-0 run to start the second period, capped by a Bates 3-pointer, but the Sea Lions responded with a 12-0 run with an Isabel Turk layup with 5:17 before half that cut the lead to one at 23-22. Just 14 seconds later Noblett added a layup to stop the threat. The Sharks closed the half with a Noblett layup to lead 33-26 at halftime.
 
Rivera started off the second half with a 3-pointer and short jumper to put HPU back up by double-digits. The Sharks eventually built the lead to 16 midway through the quarter and despite the Sea Lions best efforts, kept the 10-point lead to the end of the third at 56-46.
 
PLNU made the game interesting in the final frame, trimming the HPU lead to seven on a triple by Liggins, then getting a free throw on the next possession to make it a 59-53 contest with 6:02 remaining. HPU pushed it back to a 10-point advantage with 4:54 left on a Bates jump shot.
 
HPU still led by nine at 67-58 with 40 seconds to play, but almost didn't close it out. Thanks to missing four straight free throws, PLNU gained possessions to cut the lead to three-points with 10 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Carley-Hill. However, the Sea Lions fouled again with Gambee hitting two free throws with 9.7 to play for the 69-64 lead. HPU forced a turnover on Point Loma's final possession to seal the win.
 
The PacWest-leading Sharks continue their extended homestand on Thursday night. Notre Dame de Namur visits The Shark Tank for a 4:30 p.m. conference contest.