San Rafael, Calif. — Hawai'i Pacific put together one of its most balanced offensive efforts of the road swing, climbing back from an early deficit and pushing Dominican to the wire before falling 71–68 on Friday afternoon. The Sharks outscored the Penguins 59–48 over the final three quarters and had multiple chances late, but Dominican held on in a tightly contested matchup that saw three ties and two lead changes.

After a slow first quarter, HPU surged back with a 26-point second period, knocking down four threes and shooting 47 percent from the field to pull within striking distance at halftime. The Sharks continued to execute in the third and fourth quarters, shooting a combined 43 percent after the break and finishing with nine made threes on the afternoon.

Mya Hatchett led the Sharks with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while Jalen Samuel matched her with 15 points of her own, including three made threes. Kyra Tanabe added 12 points and went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line, and Alana Roberts contributed eight points and seven rebounds. Freshman Kyla Hopton gave HPU a strong spark off the bench, hitting three threes for 10 points, and Kalysa Ng added eight points with two makes from deep.

HPU shot 41 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and 76 percent at the line while producing 33 rebounds and 33 bench points. Dominican countered with 42 rebounds, 14 second-chance points, and timely shooting late to maintain a narrow advantage.

With the competitive effort, HPU moves to 3–10 overall and 2–5 in PacWest play as the Sharks now return home for Thursday's doubleheader against Menlo at the Shark Tank.