Box Score AZUSA, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team played a strong second half on Saturday at Azusa Pacific but it wasn't enough to overcome a rocky first nine minutes in an eventual 60-54 PacWest Conference loss.

Dominican struggled early, spotting the Cougars a 24-2 lead on a 22-point swing. The Penguins went on a run of their own, using a nine-point run to trim the lead to 24-11 at 5:49 left in the half on Kelsey McKeon's jumper. At halftime, Dominican trailed 35-21.

The Penguins saw the deficit grow to 18 points in the second before trimming the lead to nine with 6:10 to go in the game. Sarah Nelson cut the lead to four with three minutes to play. Kelly Hardeman's three-pointer on the ensuing possession proved critical for the Cougars, pushing the lead back to a three-possesion game. Dominican got to the free throw line, making 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute and cut the lead to three before Azusa Pacific put the game out of reach for good with three free throws to close out the game.

Allyssa Weatherd, who had Dominican's first two points, finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with nine reboudnds, three assists, and three steals. Sarah Nelson added her sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and had three assists. Danielle Yamauchi had four points and four rebounds. No other Penguin had more than two points.

Hardeman led the Cougars with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cyndie Jones also had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Katie Powell added 12 points, all in the first half.

Both teams shot just 33.3 percent from the field and grabbed 48 rebounds. Dominican struggled from deep yet again and made just 1-of-9 from behind the arc.

Dominican will look to salvage a game from its three-game excursion to Southern California on Monday, Jan. 12 at Point Loma. Gametime is slated for 5:30 p.m. Live coverage will be provided by the Sea Lions and will be available at dominicanathletics.com/live.