IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team took on the #5 ranked Sharks of Hawai'i Pacific University at home on Wednesday night. The Eagles fought valiantly but ultimately fell to HPU 76-59.
"They are undefeated and 22-1 for a reason," said head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan. "They are a great team who never get rattled, stay the course, and physically battle every possession. When we can build those traits consistently then we can become great too."
The Eagles came out strong to start the game. They managed to grab a 10-5 lead half way through the first quarter.
From there the Sharks showed why they are ranked fifth in the nation, outscoring the Eagles 17-7 the rest of the quarter, which gave them a 22-17 point lead after one.
The Eagles finished the game with four players in double figures.
Junior forward Michaela VanderKlugt finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, one shy of her third straight double-double, four assists, and one block.
Sophomore guard Jasmine Rachal finished with a team high 15 points.
The Eagles managed to cut into the lead in the first half of the second quarter, but struggled to put the ball in the basket towards the end of the half. They went into the half down 39-27
Off the bench the Eagles were led by two freshman, Lainie James and Savannah Felix-Amoroso.
James finished with 11 points while Felix-Amoroso finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
Felix-Amoroso was the beneficiary of the Sharks double teaming VanderKlugt.
"I noticed they were doubling down on Michaela, and I knew I had to get to the next open spot for the easy pass," said Felix-Amoroso. "I had to step up and score for my teammates when they were being doubled."
Felix-Amoroso has come a long way since the beginning of the year. Collins-Kiernan is not at all surprised with her growth and expects nothing less over the last month of the season.
"Savannah makes a ton of mistakes," said Collins-Kiernan. "She is still learning so much about this game. Savannah rarely gives up, she gets to the next thing pretty quickly, and works really hard to develop the IQ part of her game as much as she does the skill part. She is developing nicely and certainly a big reason why we are competitive."
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday as they host Chaminade University at 5:30pm. For the full CUI women's basketball schedule click here.
