Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — It was a case of fire and ice in the women's basketball game at Conlan Center on Tuesday night.

The visiting Grand Canyon University 'Lopes, the 15th ranked team in the nation this week in the NCAA Division II USA Today/ESPN poll, were on fire. They hit their first 10 shots of the contest to build a 20-4 lead and wound up shooting 48.1 percent from the floor overall.

The Dominican University of California Lady Penguins, meanwhile, were ice cold. They missed 19 of their first 22 shots and trailed 35-13 at halftime en route to a 62-34 loss in their first Pacific West Conference game of the season.

Kimi Nakamura led the Lady Penguins (1-10/0-1) with six points, but the junior guard missed her first eight shots of the game against the 'Lopes (9-1/1-1). Te Manu Whakataki "Taki" Te Koi added five points off the bench, as Dominican's reserves outscored its starters 21-13.

Sarah Nelson, a 6-foot-4 freshman, blocked a game-high five shots for the Lady Penguins, Lauren Hyatt had a career-high five steals and Melissa Wise pulled down a team-high four rebounds, but the Lady Penguins were outrebounded 55-29 in the game.

“I thought we did a better job in the second half of crashing the boards offensively and we forced (a season-high) 26 turnovers. Those are positives that we can build on,” said Head Coach Brianna Chambers. “I was happy that Lauren was aggressive offensively and I thought we took good shots.”

Nevertheless, the 'Lopes, the PacWest's top defensive team, limited Dominican with its zone defense to its lowest scoring output in a game since the Penguins netted 34 against San Francisco State on Nov. 11, 2008. It also was Dominican's poorest shooting night since it shot .204 in a Nov. 18 game at Alaska Anchorage, now the ninth ranked NCAA Div. II team in the country.

In spite of Grand Canyon's torrid start, it was Dominican's best defensive effort, score-wise, since its 51-48 upset win over Chico State on Nov. 22. The Lady Penguins held Maylinn Smith, the league's leading scorer, to a season-low eight points in 20 minutes, eight below her season's average.

The Lady Penguins return to the Conlan Center on Thursday, January 5 to face Dixie State College in another PacWest contest. Game time is 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live online at http://radio.dominican.edu and http://www.dominicanathletics.com.