SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Allyssa Weatherd led the charge with 28 points as the Dominican University of California women's basketball team pulled to .500 with a convincing 89-78 victory over visiting Dixie State on Thursday night.

Dominican trailed by seven early, 15-8, but a Jessy Marshall layup followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Jade Castro and Marshall gave Dominican a 16-16 lead with nine minutes to go in the first half. The Red Storm regained the lead but Dominican finished the half on a 24-5 run to take a 42-24 halftime lead. The Penguins saw their lead dwindle to nine in the second half but a Nelson jumper at the seven-minute mark grew the lead to 20. Dixie State would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

The Penguins shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) for the game and a spectacular 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the second half. The Penguins went 5-for-10 (50 percent) from deep and also pounded the ball inside for 26 points in the paint. Dominican also feasted on 29 Dixie State turnovers, a season-high by an opponent, turning those into 31 points.

Weatherd, who entered the night No. 19 in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage at 56 percent, went 8-of-12 (67.7 percent). She added eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Weatherd also made more free throws (12) than the Red Storm attempted as a team (11). Carly Holboke scored 17 points and added five rebounds. Castro and Marshall came off the bench for 14 points apiece. Sarah Nelson narrowly missed a double-double. The senior center finished with eight points, a team-high 10 rebounds, and eight blocks, bringing the nations' leading shot blocker's average to 5.12 per game.

Kaylah Miller scored a career-high 26 points for the Red Storm. She and Chermayne Moore (23 points) each went 7-of-15 from three-point range. Haileigh Emerine led all players with 16 rebounds.

The victory kept Dominican in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the upcoming PacWest Championships. Academy of Art and UH Hilo, who are both above the Penguins in the standings at 6-5, were idle on Thursday night but will be back in PacWest action on Saturday night. Dominican hosts Fresno Pacific (2-14/2-9 PacWest) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m. Live coverage is available at dominicanathletics.com/live with audio provided by radio.dominican.edu. Fans are encouraged to wear gold to the game on Saturday and the first 100 fans will receive gold Dominican t-shirts as part of Gold Rush Night presented by Gold Rush Jewelers.