SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team fell 78-75 to visiting Simon Fraser on Tuesday in non-conference action.

Dominican (2-2) led 18-14 after the first quarter and maintained that lead into the fourth quarter. Canada's only NCAA team tied the game at 57-57 on a Meg Wilson layup, then SFU (5-1) took the lead on a pair of free throws from Ozi Nwabuko. Sandra Ikeora's layup at the five-minute mark tied the game at 63 but Elisa Homer's three-pointer at the other end gave the Clan the lead for good. Alexis Price's three-pointer with 17 seconds pulled Dominican within two but a an SFU free throw pushed the lead back to three and Carly Holboke's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.

There were plenty of opportunities for the Penguins to pull away early. In a game that had 58 total fouls, the Penguins went to the free throw line 40 times but converted on just 23 (57.5 percent). On the season Dominican, is shooting just 59.1 percent. Whether intentional or not, SFU's physicah approach worked. In the first quarter, the Penguins led by six but missed two free throws that would have pushed the lead to eight. Instead, SFU went inside and scored four points in the paint to keep the game close. With the lead cut to one in the third quarter, Dominican missed two free throws and saw the lead temporarily slip away before rebuilding the lead to four by the end of the quarter. Dominican also missed two free throws at the three-minute mark and a free throw with under a minute to go, both of which would have trimmed a five-point deficit.

Ikeora poured in a season-high 27 points, two shy of her career-high, and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. She went 9-of-17 from the field but also went 9-of-17 from the free throw line. Natalie Diaz matched a season-high 17 points, seven rebounds, and a season-high four assists in a full 40 minutes of work. Price scored 14 points. Taylor Donnot had six points but was limited to 11 minutes after fouling out with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.

Nwabuko led SFU with 22 points and nine rebounds. Homer added 20 points.

After Thanksgiving, the Penguins head to the Pioneer Shootout hosted by Cal State East Bay for two games. Dominican will face the host Pioneers on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. and Humboldt State on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. The Penguins host Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m.