SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – On Beach Night at the Conlan Center, Dominican University of California women's basketball senior Carly Holboke made history.
 
With 4:49 left in the second quarter of Thursday's comeback win over Fresno Pacific, Holboke sank a three-pointer and became Dominican's all-time leading scorer in the Division II era. A 5-foot-8 guard from Vancouver, Wash., Holboke surpassed Allyssa Weatherd on the program's leaderboard.
 
It represented one of many highlights for the Penguins on Thursday as the team's 73-56 victory keeps them in contention for a spot in the PacWest tournament.
 
Dominican will play its regular season finale on Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. home tipoff against Hawaii Hilo. The seventh-place Penguins are 11-8 in conference play and there is a three-team tie directly above in the standings. The top six squads advance to the PacWest postseason.
 
On Thursday night at the Conlan Center, Dominican trailed Fresno Pacific at halftime but put together a tremendous performance in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. The Penguins outscored the Sunbirds 26-6 in that frame.
 
After eclipsing the 1,000-point mark last week, junior forward Sandra Ikeora added another 22 points on Thursday as she remains at No. 3 on the program's all-time leaderboard.
 
Sophomore guard Natalie Diaz put together a breakout performance, totaling 22 points and 15 rebounds to set career bests in both categories. The Soquel native also added four blocks to bolster the Penguins' defensive effort. As a team on Thursday, the Penguins shot 45 percent from the floor and limited FPU to a 31.8-percent mark.
 
Late in the first quarter, the Sunbirds stretched their lead to double digits with a three-pointer by Megan Lee. With six seconds left in the quarter, Dominican snapped the visitor's run as Alanna Scott dropped in a fastbreak layup and put the quarter score at 14-6.
 
The Penguins' offense awoke in the second quarter and the home squad pulled to within two points – 26-24 – with 3:29 remaining. Just a few possessions later, Diaz knocked down a three-pointer to put the teams in a 28-28 tie. FPU took a 33-28 edge into the break but the momentum wouldn't last long.
 
Ikeora scored the first five points of the third quarter, including a steal on the opening possession that resulted in a fastbreak layup on the other end. At the 7:34 mark, Alexis Price sank a triple to give the Penguins a 36-33 advantage and they kept the lead for the remainder of the contest.
 
Dominican put together a 12-0 run before FPU scored its first basket of the third quarter. The Penguins cruised to the finish, spreading the margin to double digits and wrapping up the 17-point win.
 
Prior to Saturday's regular season finale, Dominican will honor the academic and athletic achievements of its senior class in a pregame ceremony.