BOX SCORE

HILO, HI — Alisha Flaaten led the Dominican University of California women's basketball team with 18 points but the Lady Penguins fell to the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, 83-72, on Friday evening in Pacific West Conference play.

A pair of Amanda Muller free throws began the scoring for UHH (7-14/4-6). Melissa Wise put Dominican (5-15/2-7) up 7-5 but the lead was short lived, as the Vulcans regained the lead on the next possession. A Kiley Berlinksi layup kept Dominican within reach at 15-14 but a 9-0 Vulcan run pushed the deficit to 22-14 before Berlinski snapped the run with a free throw. UHH used a 12-point run to extend the lead further, to 34-18. Flaaten scored Dominican's last 12 points of the half to keep Dominican within 11 points at halftime, 44-33.

The Vulcans tacked on four points to begin the second half and maintain the lead. Tammy Brawner cut the UHH lead to 55-44 with five straight points with 13 minutes to go. Two consecutive Kelsey Janusch three-pointers trimmed the gap to 66-60 but Dominican was forced to foul and the Vulcans made nine free throws in the final two minutes to pull away.

The Lady Penguins shot .406 for the game, including .371 in the first half. Dominican also made just 7-of-17 free throws (.412) on the night. The Vulcans shot slightly better from the floor at .431 but the difference came at the free throw line, where they went 29-of-36 (.806).

Flaaten led all scorers with 18 points, 15 coming in the first half. She now stands just six points away from tying Jennifer Roger Fernandez's all-time women's basketball scoring record of 1,487 points. Brawner added 14 point and four assists. Janusch posted 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

Kirsty Imai led the Vulcans with her 17 points and added seven rebounds.
Natalie Mata added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Hotia Vaaimamao added 12 points and seven rebounds. Sheena Pio rounded out the Vulcan players with nine points and eight rebounds.

Dominican returns to California for two home games next week at the Conlan Center against Bay Area rivals Academy of Art University and Notre Dame de Namur University. The Lady Penguins will face AAU on Thursday, Feb. 18, when Flaaten is poised to tie Rogers Fernandez's scoring record. Notre Dame de Namur comes calling on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff for both games is slated for 5:30 p.m.