Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Kimi Nakamura scored a career-high 19 points for the Dominican University of California women's basketball team on Friday night, yet the Lady Penguins couldn't recover from a University of Sioux Falls surge in the second half in a 79-55 defeat at the Conlan Center.

The Cougars (8-1) connected on nine of their first 15 shots to stretch an eight-point halftime lead to 22, 57-35, with 11 minutes to go. Dominican (1-8) couldn't manage to trim that deficit any lower than 16 points.

“This really is such a young team. We went from the Saint Martin's game [on Dec. 13] to playing well and making strides then we have a tough game tonight,” said Head Coach Brianna Chambers. "We're inconsistent. The only way that freshmen and new players learn is by experience.”

Nakamura, a junior guard who came into the game averaging 6.9 points a game, made 7-of-15 field goal attempts.  Her previous career-high was when, as a freshman, she scored 17 points against Hawai'i Pacific University on Jan. 5, 2010. Nakamura passed that mark on Friday with a 3-point shot with 6:12 in the game, her fifth 3-pointer, another career-high.

Unfortunately, the Lady Penguins trailed 66-47 at that point.

Senior Te Manu Whakataki "Taki" Te Koi added 10 points for the Lady Penguins, all in the first half. Freshman Danielle Yamauchi had a game-high eight assists while sophomore teammate Kayla Valentine had a game-high eight rebounds, though she struggled with her shooting, going 1-for-10. Sarah Nelson, the Lady Penguins' 6-foot-4 freshman, started her first game of the season and scored all eight of her points in the second half.

Senior Jamey Hofer paced Sioux Falls with 18 points in 19 minutes. The Cougars shot 25 free throws in the non-league contest, 19 more than Dominican.

The Lady Penguins stayed close in the first half, trailing only 33-25 despite shooting just 28 percent (9-for-32) from the floor, shooting 10 fewer free throws and being outrebounded 23-18. They had more 3-point goals (5) than 2-point goals (4) and had trouble with their defensive rotation.

Dominican relied heavily on a pair of upperclassmen, Te Koi and Nakamura, to keep the Cougars in its sights. Te Koi came off the bench after the Lady Penguins fell behind 10-3 and immediately scored five points to pull her team within four points.

Sioux Falls, with senior Vanessa Johnson tallying 13 points of her 17 points in the first half, built its lead back up to 10, before Dominican chipped away at it. Nakamura hit a 3-pointer to close the Lady Penguins again within four. She also banked in a left-handed bank shot off a beautiful spin move.

Te Koi and Nakamura combined for 18 of the Lady Penguins' 25 first-half points. Valentine added six rebounds and Yamauchi contributed five assists.

Dominican's next home game is Thursday, Dec. 29 against NCAA Division I Brown University out of the Ivy League. The Bears (6-4) have not played since a 61-57 win over Vermont on Dec. 7. The Brown game tips off at 7:00 p.m. at the Conlan Center. It will be broadcast live online at http://radio.dominican.edu and www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo.