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HILO, Hawai'i — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team resumed Pacific West Conference play and kicked off its three-game road trip on the islands with a 57-55 victory at UH Hilo.

After building a 31-23 halftime lead, the Lady Penguins (3-8/2-1) missed four of their first six field goal attempts out of the break and UH Hilo (4-6/1-3) chipped away at the lead. The Vulcans came within striking distance when Jazzmyn Davis' basket trimmed the Dominican lead to just a pair at the 12-minute mark but back-to-back three pointers from Jessy Marshall and Kimi Nakamura quickly bumped the lead back to eight, 46-38.

“For the most part, I'm happy with the way we played,” said Dominican Head Coach Brianna Chambers. “We were able to answer their runs and score when we needed to score.”

A Kirsten Shimizu three-pointer fueled an 11-4 run by the Vulcans that put them in front for the first time in the second half at 50-49 with 4:31 to play. Noelle Roldan quickly answered with a jumper before another Davis jumper put UH Hilo in front again. A Stephanie Carnes three-pointer from the left side put Dominican in front by a pair with two minutes to play. Another Carnes three-pointer gave her eight points and kept the lead just out of reach with 21 seconds to go. A signature Sarah Nelson block at the defensive end preserved the lead for good.

UH Hilo was led by Kirsty Imai's 12 points, 10 points, five assists, and two blocks.

Dominican was led by Nelson's 12 points and six rebounds. The nation's second leading shot blocker in NCAA Division II also added a pair of rejections, including the crucial one in the final possession. Roldan turned in a career-high 11 points. Jasmine Cox pulled down six rebounds while Danielle Yamauchi dished out five assists.

Salonika Quewon-Owens made her season debut for the Lady Penguins in the win. The 5-foot-8 junior guard, who had previoulsy been deployed for the United States Air Force from April 2008 to September 2012, added five points, four rebounds, a block, and a steal in 13 minutes of action.

“It's always hard to play over here [in Hawai'i], we had half a dozen girls who were making this trip for the first time but they responded well,” added Chambers. “Getting the trip started right is crucial and now we'll shift our focus to Monday.”

Dominican now travels to the island of Oahu and will face Chaminade University of Honolulu on Monday, Jan. 7 at 5:00 p.m. HST, then face Hawai'i Pacific University on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m. HST in Honolulu's Neal S. Blaisdell Center.