SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California has plenty to be thankful for after the Penguins won their third straight, a 76-73 nailbiter over visiting Humboldt State, to continue the Penguins' best-ever start in the DII era at 4-1.

Three Penguins had three players in double digits as they built what would turn out to be a much-needed cushion. Kiana Brown's three-pointer beat the buzzer to end the first quarter and gave Humboldt State a 22-20 lead. Sophomore Sandra Ikeora had the first four points of the second quarter and a Jade Castro three-pointer gave Dominican the lead, back 27-24. The game remained tight but Dominican opened things up with an eight-point run and led by 10 before taking a 42-35 halftime lead.

Dominican seemed in full control by the third quarter as the Penguins built their lead to as large as 14. However, HSU was much more aggressive and played tighter zone defense over the final 10 minutes. It didnt' help that the Penguins weren't particularly careful with the ball — they committed 28 turnovers which led to 26 points.

An A'Jaee Foster layup cut the Dominican lead to three, 69-66, with 4:11 to go in the game. The Jacks had two straight possessions with a chance to score but turnovers of their made for wasted opportunities. Foster sank a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one, 74-73, with 33 seconds left on the clock but quick passing by the Penguins ran time off and got the ball into the hands of shooter Carly Holboke, who iced the game with a pair of free throws. Humboldt State attempted two three-pointers from the left side in the final 10 seconds but neither fell.

Junior guard Allyssa Weatherd led all players with 18 points on 10-of-13 free throw shooting and had a team-high 10 rebounds in a full 40-minute effort. It was senior Melissa Boscarino though who galvanized the Penguins in key moments and finished with 16 points and a career-high eight assists. The guard nailed two three-pointers, the second of which stopped a 5-0 Lumberjacks run midway through the fourth quarter. Sandra Ikeora added 14 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes. The sophomore forward is averaging 12 points and 15.4 minutes per game. Holboke added eight points, four rebounds, and three assists. Junior center Ashley Sorensen added six points, seven rebounds, and a career-high five blocks.

Forward Amanda Kunst led HSU with 14 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds. Guard Neika Puryear added 13 points on 6-of-6 free throw shooting.

Dominican will face its toughest challenge of the season this weekend when the Penguinst head to UC San Diego for the Sixth Annual UCSD Thanksgiving Classic. Dominican will face the host Tritons, who received votes in the latest USA Today NCAA Division II women's basketball poll, on Friday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m.