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The Hawaii Pacific women’s basketball program dropped to fifth in Wednesday’s edition of the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Regional Rankings.
The unbeaten Sharks (13-0) are behind the Colorado School of Mines (15-3), Western Colorado (13-4), Westminster of Utah (11-4) and Azusa Pacific (10-4). They are ranked No. 2 in one national poll and No. 4 in another.
HPU didn’t let the bad news deter it on Wednesday, beating Chaminade 79-40 at the Shark Tank. Amy Baum had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists. Alysha Marcucci led the way with 25 points in the victory.
Six of HPU’s victories have come against the Silverswords.
UH Hilo men debut at No. 7 in regional poll
The UH Hilo men’s basketball team (9-1) was ranked seventh in Wednesday’s NCAA West Region rankings.
UH Hilo is No. 22 and 24 in the national rankings but will need to climb into the top six regionally on Sunday to qualify for the NCAA tournament in Golden, Colo., beginning March 12. The Vulcans can make their case with two games against Chaminade this weekend.
Hawaii kickboxers earn medals at national tournament
Kickboxers from two Hawaii clubs had an impressive showing at the sport’s national championship in Tennessee over the weekend.
Taz Kaleiopu and Joven Lopez led the way with their second national championships. JJ Morales, Quincy Manuel and Sefo Manuel earned their first gold medals.
Chris Gonzales, Brandon Abiva and Christian Tajiri took silver.
In all, Hawaii had nine athletes qualify for the Pan Am Games scheduled for October in Cancun.
