SAN FRANCISCO — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team fell 71-60 to Academy of Art University on Wednesday evening at San Francisco's historic Kezar Pavilion in Pacific West Conference play.

Dominican (5-14/3-6) struggled to find the tempo that propelled the Lady Penguins past the No. 10 regionally ranked Hawai'i Pacific University. Despite a strong start, AAU (6-12/4-5) soon led 15-13 after a Verity Peets shot in the post. After falling behind by as much as 11, Dominican cut the halftime deficit to 43-35 on a shot by graduate guard Tammy Brawner.

The Lady Penguins' woes carried into the second half, going just 8-of-26 (.308) from the floor. Down by 14 with less than 10 minutes to play, Brawner snapped a seven-minute Lady Penguin drought and a nine-point Urban Knight run but there was no catching up.

AAU was led by senior forward Jessica Nolan's double-double. She finished the night with 16 points and  12 rebounds. Junior guard Nicole DeRosier made three of her nine-three point attempts and tallied 13 points. Jasmine English and Alisa Griggs each added 10 points for the Urban Knights (6-12/4-5).

Senior guard Kelsey Janusch made four of Dominican's five three-pointers and finished with 16 points. Brawner had another strong performance, going 6-of-9  (.667) from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line en route to a 15-point night. Sophomore forward Melissa Wise added nine points, all in the first half. Senior forward Shawna Bryant finished her night with nine points and five rebounds before fouling out with a minute to go. Senior center Raquel Gomes led the Lady Penguins with seven rebounds.

The Lady Penguins return home to the Conlan Center on Saturday, Feb. 5 when they host Notre Dame de Namur University. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcast, with live audio available at http://radio.dominican.edu and live video available at www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo.