LACEY, Wash. – No. 25 Hawai'i Pacific University had their 39-game regular season winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon with a 62-53 loss to Saint Martin's in Marcus Pavilion.
 
The Sharks (1-1) fell in the regular season for the first time since Nov. 27, 2019 when they lost to No. 19 Sioux Falls (S.D.) 79-77 at The Shark Tank. The Saints (1-0) won their official season opener.
 
Junior Tavia Rowell from Langley, British Columbia Canada/Walnut Grove led the Sharks with 16 points, with senior All-American Amy Baum of Melbourne, Australia/Rowville Secondary and junior Avery Cargill of Santa Rosa, Calif./Cardinal Newman adding 11 points each. Three Sharks grabbed five rebounds each, while Baum had four boards and had two of the Sharks six assists in the game.
 
The Saints were led by Lauryn Morris with 13 points, while Emily Nelson double-doubled with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Rian Clear also added 11 points.
 
HPU was plagued by shooting woes, hitting just 27 percent from the floor (18-of-67), including 5-of-28 (18 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Sharks connected on 12-of-18 from the free throw line (67 percent). Saint Martin's shot 35 percent from the field (20-of-57), with 5-of-19 (26 percent) coming from behind the arc. The Wolves were 17-of-26 (65 percent) from the charity stripe. The Saints dominated the boards 52-30, and turned the ball over 16 times to the Sharks eight.
 
The Sharks and Saints swapped the lead three times in the opening quarter, carrying a 17-14 lead after the first on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Cargill.
 
HPU built the lead to four with eight minutes left in the second on a Rowell 3-pointer, but the Saints followed with a 6-0 run to take the lead midway through the period. The Sharks tied the contest at 22-all on a Cargill layup with 3:14 left before halftime, then the Saints held HPU to just three points the rest of the half on the way to an 11-3 run and a 33-25 lead at intermission.
 
Saint Martin's extended the lead to 13 in the third quarter, taking a 49-36 lead after three.
 
The Saints extended the lead to 17 before HPU cut it to a nine-point difference with a Rowell jumper with nine seconds left to make the final 62-53.
 
The Sharks continue their visit to the Great Northwest with a game on Monday at Seattle Pacific. Tipoff is set for Noon HST (2 p.m. PST) at Brougham Pavilion.