Hawaii Pacific posts triple digits for the first time in six years in win over Alaska Fairbanks

HONOLULU – Scoring explosion Sharks.

For the first time since the 2019-2020 season, the Hawaii Pacific University women’s basketball team eclipsed 100 points in a single game on Friday evening as the Sharks opened up the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge with a 112-92 victory over Alaska Fairbanks.

Seven different players finished in double figures for HPU, led by fifth-year forward Abbey Hadsell’s 18 points off the bench in her season debut. The Sonoma State transfer hit 8-of-11 attempts from the field in just 14 minutes of action while collecting eight rebounds and blocking a pair of shots.

Lucia Ricci had her usual jack-of-all-trades performance with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists in 23 minutes of work for the Sharks, matching Kalysa Ng with a team-best three made 3-pointers.

The Sharks took a five-point lead after a quarter of play, posting 30 points in the opening frame with the help of seven offensive rebounds and six forced turnovers to offset six 3-pointers from the Nanooks.

Alaska Fairbanks worked to knot the game at 51 by the halftime break, draining three more triples in the second quarter while holding HPU to 36% shooting in the stanza.

The seesaw affair between the Sharks and Nanooks continued into the second half, seeing Alaska Fairbanks connect five more times from deep while Hawaii Pacific diced through the full-court press of the visitors for a 26-point third quarter on 52% shooting to take a one-point advantage into the final frame.

Hawaii Pacific pulled away over the final 10 minutes, using a mix of great defense and transition offense to outscore Alaska Fairbanks by 19 in the fourth quarter. The Nanooks managed just one make across their final 17 shots from the floor while 12 of the 13 makes in the fourth quarter for the Sharks were assisted on.

Second-year forward Kyla Hopton had a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 18 minutes for HPU while guards Mya Hatchett and Kalysa Ng chipped in 13 points apiece in the victory. Ng’s output set a new HPU career-high for the third-year guard while Hatchett had her first double-digit scoring output since the opening game of the season for the Sharks.

Jalen Samuel continued her hot start to her second college season, eclipsing double figures in the scoring department for the third time in four games this year as she poured in 12 points in 24 minutes. Fellow second-year guard Mia Frye rounded out the scorers in double figures for the Sharks, adding a season-high 10 points in a team-high 31 minutes of work.

The 112-point explosion was Hawaii Pacific’s highest scoring outing since putting up 115 points in a 32-point home victory over Dominican (CA) on January 11, 2020.

Denae Skelton paced the Nanooks in the loss, scoring 16 points while hitting a game-best four 3-pointers for the visitors. Brandi Stanford followed behind with 14 points as five players finished with 10 or more points in the loss for Alaska Fairbanks.

Hawaii Pacific will be right back in action on Saturday, looking to move above .500 once again as they host Alaksa Anchorage to wrap up the 2026 Alaska/Hawaii Challenge. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside the Shark Tank.