SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team used a 27-point fourth quarter to blow open its PacWest Conference opener on Saturday to best Fresno Pacific 78-51 in the Conlan Center.

The Penguins (5-3/1-0 PacWest) outscored the Sunbirds (1-5/0-1 PacWest) in every quarter and staked a 15-9 lead in the first quarter. That lead grew steadily to 33-22 in the second quarter. Dominican held the Sunbirds scoreless for nearly three minutes in the third quarter while going on an 8-0 run. That gave the Penguins a 52-26 lead and the lead grew to as large as 32 in the final three minutes.

Dominican shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from beyond the arc, led by two apiece from Natalie Diaz and Carly Holboke. At the other end of the court, Dominican limited Fresno Pacific to just 33.3 percent (22-of-66). The Penguins also won the rebounding battle, 50-37, and converted 22 FPU turnovers into 27 points. The Penguins' pressure defense led to 19 steals, led by four apiece from Weatherd and Taylor Donnot.

Head Coach Tim LaKose was able to play all of his healthy players thanks to quality work from his starters. Three starters reached double digits — Diaz (21), Weatherd (17), and Melissa Boscarino (14) — and another, Sandra Ikeora, led all players with 13 rebounds. It was a career performance for Diaz, who has already had four double digits games as a freshman.

Taylor Caspers had a double-double and led the Sunbirds with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Dominican is off until Thursday, Dec. 17 when the Penguins head to San Francisco's historic Kezar Pavilion to face Academy of Art. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.