SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team inched closer to securing a bid to the PacWest Championships with a 98-60 conference victory over Chaminade on Thursday night in the Conlan Center.
Dominican continued its best season in the Division II era and improves to 15-6 overall and 11-3 in PacWest play. Meanwhile, Chaminade falls to 4-14 overall and 4-10 in PacWest play. The Penguins stand in fourth place in the PacWest. The top six eligible teams head to the PacWest Championships in March.
The Penguins entered the game ninth in the nation in NCAA Division II scoring offense and increased their average to 82.5 points per game. Over half (50) of their points came in the paint as the Penguins shot 52.2 percent (36-of-69) from the field. The Silverswords were limited to 32.9 percent (23-of-70) from the field.
Sandra Ikeora led all players with 22 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
Allyssa Weatherd, coming off of
USBWA National Player of the Week honors, went 7-of-11 from the field and finished with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. She is currently 10th in the nation in field goal percentage and fifth in free throw attempts.
Taylor Donnot added 15 points and
Carly Holboke finished with 12 points.
Dominican surrendered the opening basket and trailed for the first four minutes of action. An Ikeora layup tied the game at 4-4 and Holboke's first of four three-pointers made it 7-4. From there, the Penguins stretched the lead to 13, 48-35, by halftime. A Weatherd jumper midway through the third quarter made it a 20-point ballgame. The Penguins led by as many as 39 and never led by less than 27 in the final quarter.
The Silverswords were led by Lilia Maio's double double (13 points, 12 rebounds).
Dominican students who attended Thursday night's game are eligible to win a $2,500 scholarship for fall 2016. Thanks to Dominican Trustee John Boneparth and his wife, Gail Harris, a recipient will be drawn from the list of students who attended Thursday night's doubleheader, plus each of the remaining women's and men's basketball home games in the Conlan Center on February 20 and February 22.
The Penguins depart on a three-game road trip to Southern California, where they'll face Point Loma, No. 5 California Baptist, and No. 21 Azusa Pacific. The first game is on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in San Diego.
