Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — It's still January but it was a happy Valentine day for the Dominican University of California women's basketball team on Thursday at the Conlan Center.

Streak-shooting sophomore Kayla Valentine keyed an 8-0 run late in the game that sparked the Lady Penguins from a 50-50 tie to a 58-53 victory over Chaminade in Pacific West Conference play. Valentine finished with a game-high 21 points, tying her career-high, as Dominican (1-5/2-14) snapped a 10-game losing streak while extending Chaminade's (0-11/0-5) consecutive game losing streak to 24.

Redshirt freshman Lauren Hyatt contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, while junior Stephanie Carnes had a season-high nine points and classmate Melissa Wise came off the bench to add eight points, six rebounds, and two steals.

The Lady Penguins, the league leader in blocked shots, had seven in the game, four by 6-foot-4 freshman Sarah Nelson.

“We've played literally the top three teams [Grand Canyon University, Dixie State College, and Cal Baptist University] in our conference back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to back,” said Head Coach Brianna Chambers. “It was good to play someone different and get that confidence back.”

It was good for Valentine to regain her shooting touch. She has had poor shooting games this season when she has gone 0-for-8, 1-for-10, 0-for-11 and 1-for-13. But, against Chaminade, Valentine connected on 8-of-16 attempts.

“It's what I do,” Valentine said. “When I start making my shots, I get that confidence and I think the team feeds off that.”

They did on Thursday night. Valentine netted four straight points after the Silverswords had gone on a 12-2 run to deadlock the game at 50 with 2:43 to go. Carnes followed with a fastbreak layup then Hyatt had an offensive rebound basket to push the Lady Penguins ahead by eight points with a minute to play.

Dominican's burst came after Chambers called timeout to settle down her team and deliver a message.

“Coach told us to attack and not shoot threes,” Valentine said. “When we attack we score.”

The Penguins prevailed after a wild shooting first half. After jumping to a 12-10 lead on a Kimi Nakamura basket with 12:10 to go before intermission, Dominican missed 16 consecutive shots against statistically the worst defensive team in the league. Chaminade capitalized on the Lady Penguins' cold streak by going on a 12-2 tear to take a 19-12 lead.

However, the Silverswords then missed 12 consecutive shots and Dominican took advantage of that. Valentine ended a seven and a half minute scoring drought to score seven points in an 11-3 run by Dominican that pushed the Lady Penguins back in front, 23-22, at halftime. Valentine had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in the first half.

The Lady Penguins found their shooting touch to start the second half, making five of their first shots. Valentine had two of them then  Carnes gave Dominican a 10-point lead, 36-26, with a three-point play and a scoop shot to cap a 13-4 run.

Yet Dominican couldn't extend that lead any higher. Though a Te Manu Whakataki "Taki" Te Koi pass led to two Valentine foul shots and a 48-38 lead with 7:57 to go, Dominican couldn't put the Silverswords away. Chaminade, which came into the game as the league's worst offensive rebounding team, had 21 offensive rebounds in the contest and pulled even at 50.

 But Valentine answered with a basket to give the Penguins the lead for good with 2:22 left.

The Lady Penguins return to the court on Monday, January 23 to host BYU-Hawaii. Game time is 5:30 p.m. The first 200 Dominican students with a valid Penguin Pass to enter the Conlan Center for Monday night's doubleheader will receive a free “Ice Box” T-shirt. They also will be eligible for a raffle and free prizes during the games. Students must be wearing an “Ice Box” T-shirt and be present to win. Doors open at 5:00 p.m.  The games will also be broadcast live at www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo and http://radio.dominican.edu.