The 25th-ranked Hawaii Pacific women’s basketball team bounced back from a Saturday loss with a 69-60 victory over Seattle Pacific on Monday at Brougham Pavilion.
The Sharks and the Falcons exchanged leads early in the game, before a first-quarter 11-4 HPU run gave them the lead for good.
Hawaii Pacific (2-1) was led by four double-figure scorers. Tavia Rowell led the way with 18 points, with Amy Baum not far behind with 17. Julia Razo added 15 points, and Makaela Zeldenryk had 13 points. Natalie Hoff led Seattle Pacific (2-1) with 18.
The tired Sharks, on their third game in four days, allowed an 8-0 Falcons run that cut the lead to 59-55. But Rowell, Razo and Baum helped push it back to 67-57. Rowell’s pair of clutch free throws iced the 69-60 win for HPU.
Hawaii Pacific will have a week before its home opener on Nov. 24, hosting Black Hills State in the Malika Sports Thanksgiving Classic at The Shark Tank.
Vulcans seeded fifth in first NCAA tourney
The UH Hilo women’s soccer team earned the No. 5 seed in the West Region as the program prepares for its first-ever NCAA Tournament. The Vulcans will take on Sonoma State in Seattle on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Co-champion of the Pacific West Conference, UH Hilo (12-3) will take on the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season champion Seawolves (14-5) in the first round. The winner will meet top seed and host Seattle Pacific (17-1) in the second round.
The second-round winner will advance to the West Region final and NCAA quarterfinal matches on Dec. 3-5. The NCAA Final Four is scheduled for Dec. 9-11 in Colorado Springs.
Chaminade moves up to 24th
The Chaminade University women’s volleyball team moved one spot up to No. 24 in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Other ranked West region schools include Cal State San Bernardino (No. 2), Western Washington (No. 14), Cal Poly Pomona (No. 19). Metropolitan State Denver, which fell to Chaminade in early September, retains the top spot in the D-II polls.
The magic number is one for Chaminade to clinch a share of the conference title for the first time since 1996. The Silverswords will have the opportunity to do so with a win against in-state rival Hawaii Hilo in the regular-season finale on Friday. A Biola loss in either of their two remaining games would also clinch a share of the title for Chaminade.
