RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Hawai`i Pacific made three crucial 3-pointers in the final minutes of its 71-67 semifinal win over Dominican on Friday at the 2018 PacWest Women’s Basketball Tournament.

BOX SCORE        DOMINICAN INTERVIEW        HAWAI`I PACIFIC INTERVIEW
 
The win sends No. 2 Hawai`i Pacific back to the conference championship game for the first time since the Sharks won the tournament in 2015. They await the winner of No. 1 Azusa Pacific and No. 5 Point Loma. Hawai`i Pacific is now 25-3 on the season, while No. 6 Dominican wraps up the year with an 18-12 record.
 
The Sharks led for most of the second half, but in the fourth quarter, Natalie Diaz scored two of her game-high 27 points for Dominican to tie the game at 50-50. Janessa Manzano quickly put Hawai`i Pacific back in control of the game by draining two threes. Alysha Marcucci made a third triple for the Sharks with just over two minutes left in the game to give them a 67-60 lead.
 
Up to that point in the game, the Sharks were 4 for 18 from beyond the arc, but they made 3 of 5 attempts in the last seven minutes to put the game out of reach. Marcucci scored a team-high 19 points and Spencer Gray dished out a game-high eight assists in the win.
 
Foul trouble became an issue early in the game for PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Sandra Ikeora, who picked up three fouls in the first quarter. As a result, she only played 17 minutes in the game, but still contributed 16 points, five rebounds and a steal.
 
Diaz carried the Penguins’ offense in the first half, scoring 18 points to get Dominican into a tie at halftime at 28-28. The Penguins defense forced 22 turnovers to slow down the Sharks offense.
 
In the fourth quarter, stops were hard to come by for either team as Hawai`i Pacific outscored Dominican, 27-26. Anna Mumm finished with eight points and team highs of 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Sharks. In the fourth quarter, she had three rebounds and a put-back lay-up.

Marcucci finished the first PacWest Tournament game of her career with a team-high 19 points with four rebounds and two assists. Manzano added 15 points, while Gabriella Fotu scored eight points off the bench.
 
Hawai`i Pacific won its only game against Point Loma this year, 70-48 in San Diego. Against Azusa Pacific, the Sharks split with both teams winning on the road after the Cougars took the most recent meeting in Honolulu in the final week of the season.