SAN DIEGO – No. 7/5 Hawai'i Pacific University won the 2020 PacWest Conference Championship outright with a record-setting performance on Monday evening, beating Point Loma 98-83 at Golden Gym.
 
The Sharks (24-1, 19-0), ranked seventh in the WBCA Division II Coaches poll and fifth in the D2SIDA poll, ran its winning streak to a school-record 20 games in beating the Sea Lions (14-10, 10-8) as HPU scored 98 or more points for the sixth time this season.
 
Sharks senior Starr Rivera of Honolulu/Roosevelt tied the school record with eight 3-point field goals, matching the mark of teammate junior Alysha Marcucci of Melbourne, Australia/Marist-Sion who made eight treys at Holy Names in Jan. 2019. The Sharks set team records with 21 treys on 53 attempts, blowing away the previous HPU marks. The triples tied the PacWest mark set earlier this year by Academy of Art against Dominican on Dec. 31, 2019, while the 3-point attempts smashed the previous conference record.
 
Rivera led HPU with 26 points to go with six assists. Freshman Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman came off the bench with six treys on the way to 20 points with four assists as six Sharks scored in double figures. Marcucci added 14 points with six rebounds, while sophomore Ally Bates of Melbourne, Australia/Yarra Valley added 14 points off the bench with nine rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary collected 12 points with five boards and six assists, while sophomore Abbey Noblett of Morwell, Australia/Lavalla Catholic recorded 10 points with seven rebounds.
 
The Sea Lions were paced by Cara Liggins with 24 points and nine rebounds with three steals, while Onjalise Carley-Hill double-doubled with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Haylee Saurette scored 17 points off the bench.
 
The Sharks shot 42 percent from the floor (33-of-79), and 40 percent from the 3-point arc (21-of-53). HPU went 11-of-13 (85 percent) from the foul line. PLNU shot 45 percent from the field (29-of-64), with 6-of-18 (33 percent) coming from beyond the arc. The Sea Lions hit 19-of-26 (73 percent) of its shots from the charity stripe.
 
Point Loma jumped out with the lead on a 7-2 run to open the game and never trailed in the first half. A Liggins 3-pointer put PLNU up 21-13 with 2:40 remaining in the quarter and held a five-point 23-18 advantage after the Sharks Noblett hit a jumper at the quarter horn.
 
The Sea Lions built the advantage to nine points with 8:43 in the half after a layup by Carley-Hill. That's when the Sharks caught fire, as Rivera buried a 3 and Bates followed with a layup and free throw. The teams swapped free throws before Rivera nailed a triple to tie the contest at 32-all. The squads swapped scores until Cargill gave HPU its first lead at 38-37 with 3:33 to play in the half. HPU and PLNU traded the lead five more times before Baum nailed a jumper to tie the contest for the third time with 20 seconds left in the half to send the game to intermission 44-44.
 
HPU opened the second half hitting as Marcucci hit three triples and Rivera another in a 9-4 run that put the Sharks up five at 53-48 just 95 seconds into the third quarter. The Sea Lions responded to tie the game two more times, the last with 5:59 to play when Kennedi Byram converted a layup-free throw 3-point-play to make it 58-58. Cargill hit three straight 3-pointers to start an 11-2 run for a nine-point lead on a pair of foul shots by Noblett with 2:47 left in the period. HPU eventually went up by 10 only to have PLNU trim the lead to eight at 75-67 by the end of the quarter.
 
HPU pushed the lead back to 13 with a 9-4 run in the first three minutes, as Bates nailed another trey and the Sharks lead never dipped below double digits. Baum gave the Sharks their largest lead on a 3-pointer with seven seconds left before a Liggins jumper at the horn made the final 98-83.
 
HPU returns to the islands, but remains on the road. The Sharks visit Hilo on Saturday afternoon to face the Vulcans at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.