Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball won their seventh straight game Saturday, defeating Point Loma 78-59 at the Conlan Center.
Junior Natalie Diaz tallied a double-double to lead the Penguins (10-2, 4-0 PacWest), finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Julia Razo added 20 points and seven rebounds while junior Alanna Scott finished with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. Roya Rustamzada led the Sea Lions (6-4, 1-2 PacWest) with 11 points and 19 rebounds.
It was a slow start for both teams offensively as Dominican held Point Loma scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. Late in the quarter, Scott grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in, then found senior
Sandra Ikeora underneath for a bucket on the next possession as the Penguins jumped ahead 13-6. Diaz knocked down a jumper in the final minute of the period, helping Dominican to an 18-10 lead going into the second.
Early in the second frame, Razo followed up a hard-fought basket by Diaz with a corner triple, putting the Penguins up 23-13 and forcing the Sea Lions to take a timeout. Coming out of the break, Scott buried a 3-pointer of her own to extend Dominican's lead to 26-15. Sophomore Anjelica Collins poured in another from downtown shortly after, as the lead stretched to 30-15. The Penguins' defense continued to make things difficult for Point Loma, holding the Sea Lions to just 25.0 percent shooting in the first half on their way to a 41-20 advantage at the break.
After Point Loma had trimmed their deficit to 15 nearly halfway through the quarter, Scott helped stretch Dominican's lead back out with a 3-pointer to make it 47-28. Razo quickly followed up with one of her own to extend the lead back to 20 at 52-32. Diaz scored the Penguins' next six points, including a spin move in the post that led to a left-handed finish. With just over a minute left in the quarter, Razo hit a 3-pointer to give Dominican a 64-38 advantage, helping the Penguins carry a 21-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Dominican refused to let the Sea Lions back into the game in the game, holding a 20-point lead for most of the final period on their way to their fourth home win in as many tries.
Ikeora left in the second quarter with an injury and did not return.
The Penguins held Point Loma to 31.9 percent shooting for the game, forcing 19 turnovers from the Sea Lions. Dominican shot 7-13 from 3-point territory while assisting on 16 of their 29 made field goals.
The Penguins take the court again Wednesday, Jan. 3, at California Baptist for a 5 p.m. tip. Live stats and video will be available online.
