BOX SCORE

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team opened 2010-11 play with a tough 97-44 loss to NCAA Division I CSU Bakersfield at the Icardo Center on Friday night.

The Roadrunners (1-0), who are in the final year of a five-year transition to Division I, built an early 17-0 lead. Dominican (0-1) finally got on the scoreboard at the 12:51 mark when sophomore Melissa Wise scored on a second chance attempt. The Lady Penguins went scoreless for another three minutes until a pair of Shawna Bryant free throws, followed by a Kelsey Janusch three-pointer, cut the CSUB lead to 34-7. The Roadrunners capitalized on 15 first-half Dominican turnovers for 15 points off turnovers and stood with a comfortable 52-9 lead by halftime.

Midway through the second half, CSU Bakersfield held the lead at 72-22 and went on to the 97-44 victory. Dominican did record 35 points in the second half though, including 22 points in the game's final 10 minutes, thanks in part to a 10-point effort by Janusch. The senior guard, who led the Lady Penguins' in their final exhibition against Holy Names, also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Bryant added eight points and four rebounds and  sophomore guard Stephanie Carnes added six points in the loss. Despite shooting just .365 from the field the Lady Penguins continued to shot well from behind the three-point arc, draining 7-of-13 (.538).

Four Roadrunners reached double digit scoring, with Amber Williams and Kristine Herman each scoring 14 points apiece. Nikki Leon recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while Britney McGee added 10 points.

Dominican will look for its first win of the season on Sunday, November 14 when the Lady Penguins travel to Cal Poly Pomona. Last season, the Broncos finished with a 22-7 overall mark, including an 11-1 home record, and finished second in the CCAA with an 18-4 mark. Tipoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.