HONOLULU Western Colorado opened its season Friday evening at the Hoops in Hawaii Tipoff Classic, swimming safely with the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific University until a fourth-quarter surge allowed HPU to escape with a 74-63 non-conference win over the Mountaineers.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Hawaii Pacific def. Western, 74-63
Records: Western 0-1, HPU 1-0
Location: Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Trailing by just four points entering the final quarter, 53-49, Western fell a little cold from the field while the Sharks heated up just enough to build a cushion before salting away the game from the free throw line.
- The teams were all square at 17-17 after the first quarter but after four lead changes in the second quarter HPU hit a 3-pointer late in the frame to eventually head into the halftime break with a narrow 35-31 advantage.
- Early in the third quarter Western drew back to within a point, 40-39, with a pair of Colette Van der Hoven free throws then took the lead at 44-43 on an Alyssa Eckroth jumper at the midpoint of the frame.
- Hawaii Pacific would respond and move back in front, but the Mountaineers entered the fourth quarter still trailing by only that four-point deficit, 53-49.
- Penelope Urquhart dropped in a 3-pointer to open the final quarter's scoring, but that one-point deficit would be as close as Western would climb as it shot just 33 percent from the floor in the final 10 minutes while HPU shot 50% from the floor and hit 9-of-14 from the free throw line.
COURT NOTES
- Eckroth would lead all scorers with a career-high 24 points in the game, shooting 50% from the floor and going 5-for-9 from the stripe.
- Newcomer Van der Hoven also reached double digits with a 15-point night and tied with Madyn Kassatly and Addisyn Parker with game-best 8 rebounds apiece as Western commanded the glass with a final 40-31 edge.
- Turnovers played a part in the final outcome as the Sharks scored 20 points off 21 Western turnovers while the Mountaineers managed 4 points off 13 HPU miscues.
UP NEXT
Western slips into the left side of the Tipoff Classic bracket, where on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MT it will play the loser of the brackets final game of Day 1 between Winona (Minn.) State and Lubbock Christian (Texas).
