BOX SCORE | PODCAST

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team started the 2009-10 campaign with a 63-58 exhibition win over Oregon Tech on Friday night.

The Lady Penguins, in their first season as a member of the NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference, faced stiff competition from the NAIA Division II Hustlin' Owls, who shot an astounding 71 percent from the field in the first half. In contrast, Dominican shot just 39 percent but took over twice as many attempts to manage a slight 30-28 halftime lead.

The game remained tight through the second half, as the two teams remained tied at nine different points while exchanging the lead. Back-to-back three pointers by Kimi Nakamura and Michaelia Baskerville put Dominican up by six with 8:25 to play. Three minutes later OIT tied things up again on a Lisa Busch three-pointer. Busch would again tied things at 57 with a free throw and her second free throw put OIT up by a point with 1:57 to play.  Alisha Flaaten put Dominican up for good with 54 seconds left with a three-pointer herself. Flaaten made three free throws in the final minute to ice the game and lift the Lady Penguins to victory.

Flaaten led all players with 15 points. Baskerville chipped in 12 points in the victory. Kiley Berlinksi led Dominican with five rebounds.

Busch was the leading scorer for the the Hustlin' Owls with nine points. Nicole Morgan pulled down 10 rebounds in the loss.

"I'm happy with the way we played. I saw a lot of good things, our freshman played well in their first [college] experience," said Dominican Head Coach Brianna Chambers. "What I'm probably proudest of tonight is that we were able to close out the game this early in the season. It's a huge step to be able to accomplish that."

The Dominican women travel to Sacramento State on Nov. 10 to face the NCAA Division I Hornets. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.