SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team knows a thing or two about resiliency. The Penguins endured a rare weather storm that canceled Thursday's practice, just finished finals, and were without the reigning USBWA NCAA Division II National Player of the Week, Sarah Nelson, who was out sick. That may have momentarily slowed the Penguins but in the end it didn't stop them as they roared back for an 87-82 non-conference victory over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday afternoon to extend the program's best start in the Division II era.

The first half was rather forgettable for the Penguins. Dominican attempted just one free throw while NNU made 10 of its 15 looks. That, in part, led to a 17-point deficit and an eight-point halftime deficit, 42-34. Starting center Lauren Hyatt was forced to the bench with three fouls with seven minutes to go before intermission. Jade Castro, who finished with a career-high 17 points, single-handedly kept the Penguins in the game with her 12 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Castro battled NNU's Taylor Simmons (15 points) much of the night. In addition to her career-high production and three assists, Castro did her part defensively with three rebounds, a steal, and even a block.

Allyssa Weatherd came alive in the second half. The sophomore, who had five points at the break, went off for 29 in the second half and finished with a career-high 34 points. Combined with Carly Holboke's career-high five made three-pointers for 17 points, Dominican was able to overtake the Crusaders down the stretch. The Penguins were able to stretch the defense thanks to their best three-point shooting of the season, going 9-of-21 (42.9 percent).

Eight points from Holboke, including two of her three-pointers, finally helped tie the game at the 12-minute mark, 55-55. However, Katie Swanson (13 points) and Kayla Schumann pushed the Crusaders lead back to four. The Penguins continued to chip away. Weatherd sank a pair of free throws, tied the game at 59-59 with a fast break layup, and followed that with a dish to Hyatt inside to give Dominican the lead. Coco Gall, who scored a team-high 19 points for the Crusaders, tied the game back at 61-61 but Weatherd's three-point play and another layup put the Penguins up for good. Dominican extended the lead to as large as seven and made 10 of their 14 free throws in the final two minutes to hang on.

With Nelson out and Hyatt in foul trouble, sophomore Ashley Sorensen played the lion's share of minutes in the middle. In 19 minutes, she held her ground with eight rebounds and three blocks. Hyatt finished with eight points and five rebounds.

The Penguins host PacWest foe Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at dominicanatlhletics.com/live with audio provided by radio.dominican.edu.