Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California Lady Penguins have a dream. A dream to make the inaugural Pacific West Conference.

Sophomore Sarah Nelson came off the bench to record her fourth double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds) of the season and classmate Lauren Hyatt contributed 12 points as 11 different Dominican players scored on Martin Luther King Jr.  Day in a 70-54 victory over Chaminade University in the Conlan Center.

With the win, the Lady Penguins (5-10/4-3), predicted by league coaches in November to finish 12th in the Pacific West Conference this season moved into seventh place in the 14-team PacWest. The top six eligible teams qualify for the inaugural PacWest tournament at Azusa Pacific University on March 7-9.

“It's early in the conference right now and every team is competing so it's kind of even,” said Dominican Head Coach Brianna Chambers. “You can't pay too much attention to where you are in the league at the moment.”

Chambers, instead, was more impressed with her team's effort on the offensive glass. Led by Nelson, the Lady Penguins had 25 offensive rebounds in the contest. Dominican's aggressive defense dictated the game's tempo and forced 32 turnovers by the Silverswords (1-12/1-7). Those two statistics allowed Dominican to attempt 29 more field goals in the contest.

Freshman Nikki Gleason came off the bench to score a career-high eight points. Nelson, who was fourth in the nation in NCAA Div. II last week in blocked shots, added three blocks while teammate Kimi Nakamura had four steals and Danielle Yamauchi and Noelle Roldan each had four assists.

Thirteen Dominican players played in the first half and 10 of them scored. Salonika Quewon-Owens, making her first start of the season, gave the Lady Penguins the lead for good, 14-13, with 10:11 left in the opening 20 minutes.  That initiated an 8-2 run capped by an Owens' steal and assist that led to a basket by freshman Jenny Marshall.

Gleason helped build the Lady Penguins' advantage to 11 points, 36-25, when she came off the bench and tallied six consecutive points in five minutes of action. Dominican's defense dictated the tempo, forcing 19 first-half turnovers that, combined with 10 offensive rebounds, allowed the Lady Penguins to attempt 13 more field attempts.

The Lady Penguins, who have surpassed their overall and league win totals from last season, resume PacWest play on Wednesday, Jan. 23 hosting Hawai'i Pacific University. Game time in the Conlan Center is 5:30 p.m. Live coverage will be available at www.dominicanathletics.com/live.