SAN FRANCISCO — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team won a critical game 79-69 over PacWest rival Academy of Art in historic Kezar Pavilion on Thursday night.
 
The Penguins came out of the gates blazing behind the aggressive attack of Natalie Diaz and Taylor Donnot. The hard-driving duo accounted for all of Dominican's points in the first period while attempting eight free throws. Despite six Dominican turnovers, the Penguins raced to a 13-11 lead after one quarter.
 
However, a sluggish start to the second quarter was compounded by the sharpshooting prowess of ART U's Rodericka Ware. With the Penguins trailing 23-20 midway through the second quarter, reserve Alanna Scott sparked a 10-0 run with tenacious defense and a pair of three-pointers. Dominican's largest lead of seven was trimmed to three at the halftime break.
 
A back-and-forth third quarter was highlighted by Diaz and Ware each doubling their first half scoring outputs of ten and fifteen points respectively. The Penguins utilized a full-court press throughout the third quarter to force the Urban Knights into a frantic pace, ultimately resulting in a Donnot layup at the buzzer to give the Penguins a two-point lead heading into the final period.
 
Dominican (10-8/6-5 PacWest) methodically held the Urban Knights (10-7/6-3 PacWest) at bay early in the fourth before a huge Carly Holboke three-pointer with three minutes remaining broke open the game and increased the lead to seven.
 
In a showdown of two of the top three scorers in the PacWest Conference, Rodericka Ware poured in 32 points for the Urban Knights, while Sandra Ikeora came on strong in the second half to finish with 17 points and 14 rebounds as she came off the bench for just the third time all season.
 
Taylor Donnot finished a tremendous all-around game with 19 points, 11 boards, and 4 assists. Scott ended up scoring 13 points and Diaz tallied her first career double-double with career highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Dominican will return home this Saturday as California Baptist invades the Igloo ranked No. 10 in the nation. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. on Welcome Back Alumni Night.