IRVINE, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's basketball team broke open a tight game late at Concordia Irvine Thursday night, running away with a decisive 89-69 victory. Both teams came into the game with a .500 record in PacWest Conference play.
 
Dominican junior Sandra Ikeora wasted no time early, pouring in the game's first six points in the opening two minutes. Teammates Natalie Diaz and Taylor Donnot added layups to open up a 10-0 Dominican lead.
 
Super-sub Annie Studdert quickly entered the game for Concordia Irvine, leading a 12-3 run to close the gap to one. In a quarter marred by 13 turnovers and 11 fouls between the two teams, Studdert was the bright spot, scoring nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws, as the Eagles led 21-18 after one.
 
Dominican (11-9/7-6 PacWest) opened the second quarter on another 10-0 run, with three-pointers by Jade Castro and Carly Holboke sandwiched by Ikeora layups. Castro and Alanna Scott provided productive minutes off the bench for the Penguins, but the Eagles clawed back into the game as a three-pointer by Jennie Kwok with seconds remaining in the half cut the Dominican lead to 35-34. Ikeora recorded 10 points and 12 boards in the first half for her 13^th double-double of the season.
 
Concordia Irvine (7-10/5-6 PacWest) continued battling the potent Dominican offense, eventually retaking the lead and drawing the fourth foul on Ikeora with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Scott stepped up for the Penguins, immediately answering with a three-pointer and transition layup to give Dominican a 60-57 lead. Scott scored 10 points in the quarter en route to her career-high 17 points.
 
Donnot paced the Penguins in the fourth quarter, adding 10 points of her own in the period. Ultimately, Dominican's defense kept the Eagles at bay, allowing only eight points in the final 10 minutes.
 
The Penguins held Studdert scoreless in the final 33 minutes and allowed only one Eagle to score 10 points. Meanwhile, Dominican placed five players in double-figures including Castro's 10 points and nine assists. Ikeora finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds while Donnot added 16 points and 11 boards. Holboke and Scott had 16 and 17 points respectively with three three-pointers each.
 
The Penguins hope to return to Irvine in five weeks as one of the top six teams to make the PacWest Championships. With the win Thursday, Dominican moved into sole possession of seventh place, setting up a huge game Saturday at sixth-place Azusa Pacific with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.