Box Score ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Senior
Sandra Ikeora picked up where she left off with a 20-20 double-double to lead Dominican women's basketball to an 83-81 come-from-behind victory Friday over Chico State at the Wolves' Den.
Ikeora finished with a staggering 27 points and 20 rebounds to go with three steals, two blocks and two assists for the Penguins (1-0). Junior Natalie Diaz came off the bench to add 17 points and eight rebounds, while senior Alexis Price chipped in 15 points. The Wildcats (0-1) were led by Whitney Branham's 27 points and four assists.
Dominican recovered from a rough start to finish the game shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from behind the arc. Chico State shot 42.4 from the field and 34.8 percent from 3-point range, but committed 28 turnovers and the Penguins took advantage for 23 points.
Trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter,
Sandra Ikeora led a 13-1 run with nine points to bring Dominican back within two with four minutes remaining. The Wildcats responded with six quick points to rebuild a comfortable lead, but the Penguins owned the final two minutes of the game.
Junior Anjelica Collins scored on back-to-back possessions to start the run and freshman Julia Razo tied the game with a steal and a layup with 18 seconds remaining. Razo got another steal eight seconds later and added a jumper with four seconds left to give the Penguins the lead. Diaz blocked Whitney Barnham's layup attempt to secure the victory.
Dominican scored the first four points of the game to take an early lead, but a 5-point Wildcat run topped by Barnham's old-fashioned, 3-point play gave them the 9-8 lead at the halfway mark of the first period. Chico then increased the lead to six with a 7-0 run, but the Penguins trimmed the lead to two with five makes from the charity stripe and the Wildcats took a 26-22 lead into the second quarter.
After a back-and-forth battle in the first five minutes of the second period, Chico took control with an 11-2 run capped by a Barnham 3-pointer to make it 44-34 at the break.
Ikeora hit back-to-back layups out of the break and Alexis Price added a 3-pointer to power a 7-point run that cut the Wildcat lead to 46-41 two minutes into the period. Chico answered with five quick points to retake the double-digit lead and the teams continued to trade baskets the rest of the quarter, giving the Wildcats a 70-58 lead heading into the fourth.
Dominican will take the court again Saturday at 4 p.m. PST against Sonoma State at The Wolves' Den to conclude the PacWest/CCAA Tip-Off Challenge. Live stats and video will be available online.
