Box Score SAN DIEGO – Dominican women's basketball defeated Cal State San Marcos 82-76 Saturday at the Rimac Arena in the UCSD Thanksgiving Classic.
 
Junior Natalie Diaz led the Penguins (4-2) with a career-high 31 points, going 9-17 from the field and 13-15 from the free throw line, while also collecting seven rebounds. Senior Sandra Ikeora recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Junior Vanessa Cruz added eight points, five rebounds and five assists. Savannah Kamp led the Cougars (0-4) with 27 points.
 
Freshman Sydney Larocca gave Dominican a 15-7 lead with a layup late in the first quarter, leading to a timeout from Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars responded with an 8-0 run out of the break to tie it up before freshman Julia Razo knocked down a three to give the Penguins an 18-15 lead going into the second quarter.
 
The game remained tight in the second quarter as both teams continued to shoot the ball well. A jumper from Cruz gave Dominican an eight-point edge with just over a minute left before the half but Cal State San Marcos got a jumper from Monica Friedl and a three from Raegan Lillie to cut their deficit to 37-34 before the break.
 
The Penguins were able to create some separation in the third quarter as Diaz finished on a fast break to put Dominican ahead 55-45. An and-1 from Diaz later in the period allowed the Penguins to take a 12-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
The Cougars chipped away throughout the final period, getting to within 74-69 as Lillie got a steal and was fouled, converting on one of her two free throws. Camp later cut the deficit to 76-74 with a layup. With the score sitting at 78-76 with just 18 seconds left, junior Angelica Collins hit a pair of huge free throws to stretch the Dominican's lead to 80-76 and help seal the win.
 
The Penguins held Cal State San Marcos to just 32.4 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range. One day after finishing 10-23 from the free throw line, Dominican shot 80 percent from the stripe, converting on 28 of 35 attempts.
 
The Penguins take the court again Thursday as they travel to Holy Names for their PacWest opener at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available online.