SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team lost to PacWest-leading Cal Baptist 98-77 on Saturday night.
 
The battle of the top two scorers in the PacWest Conference did not disappoint as Cassidy Mihalko scored 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Lancers while Sandra Ikeora tallied 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Penguins.
 
After falling behind 12-3 in the opening three minutes, Ikeora led the Penguins back with eight straight Dominican points before an Alexis Price three-pointer tied the game at 14 all. A jumper by Alanna Scott gave the Penguins their first lead of the night with two minutes remaining in the first quarter and a layup by Ikeora in the closing seconds gave Dominican a 25-19 lead over the Lancers — undefeated in PacWest play.
 
Two quick Ikeora buckets to start the second quarter gave the Penguins their largest lead of the game at 29-19. Amid a flurry of three-pointers from both teams, Cal Baptist shifted to a zone defense, clawing their way back in front with 2:30 to play in the first half. Natalie Diaz picked up her third foul with under ten seconds to go and a Penguin turnover with three seconds left allowed Cal Baptist head coach Jarrod Olson to call timeout and draw up a play for Lexy Ram to hit a three-pointer from the corner as time expired.
 
The Penguins (10-9/6-6 PacWest) could never turn the momentum from halftime as the Lancers (19-2/10-0 PacWest) pounced on them to start the third, completing a 12-0 run spanning the two periods. Diaz and Taylor Donnot both fouled out of the game shortly after and the Lancer lead ballooned to twenty. Hard-charging Alyssa Lorenzo came off the bench to try and spark a Dominican comeback, but the battle-tested Lancers proved to be too much as they rolled to victory.
 
Ikeora recorded her 12th double-double of the season. Diaz tacked on 13 points and seven rebounds while Alanna Scott recorded nine points and six boards.
 
Dominican next heads to southern California for a showdown with Concordia Irvine on Thursday, January 26. They complete the road trip with a Saturday matinee at Azusa Pacific on January 28.