PacWest Tournament Central

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - With a 75-62 victory Saturday over Hawaii Hilo, the Dominican University of California women's basketball team earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming PacWest tournament.

The Penguins received a bit of help earlier on Saturday when Azusa Pacific topped Academy of Art and then Dominican collected the convincing Senior Night win against the Vulcans to punch the ticket officially. This will mark the Penguins' third all-time appearance in the PacWest postseason with the previous two occurrences coming in 2013-14 and 2015-16.

The 2017 postseason will begin on Thursday, March 2 with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against third-seeded Hawaii Pacific. The winner will take on No. 2 seed Point Loma on Friday. Concordia Irvine is hosting the six-team event.

In Saturday's home win on Senior Night, Dominican demonstrated an efficient offense while committing a season-low six turnovers. Jade Castro and Vanessa Cruz served as the catalysts, contributing four assists apiece. Castro nearly earned a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing seven boards.

Three Penguins finished in double figures, led by a 24-point and 12-rebound effort from Sandra Ikeora as she sank 11 of her 19 attempts. Dominican all-time leading scorer Carly Holboke added 18 points while Natalie Diaz tallied 16.

Defensively, the Penguins limited the visitors to a 36.4-percent shooting performance. Diaz finished with a team-high four steals as Dominican forced 14 turnovers. 

The two teams played close in the first quarter as the Penguins held a 13-10 edge at the first break. The home team elevated its play in the second quarter, outscoring Hawaii Hilo 23-8 in the 10 minutes of action. The quarter started with a 6-0 run that featured four points from Diaz. A 9-0 spurt to close out the quarter put the halftime score at 36-18 in favor of the Penguins.

Midway through the third quarter, Dominican widened its lead to as many as 28 points after Diaz sank a free throw. Late in the fourth quarter, Hawaii Hilo trimmed the gap to 13 points but the rally was too little and too late for the visitors.

After rising up to the No. 6 seed on the final night of the regular season, the Penguins enter the posteason with plenty of momentum. For the four Dominican seniors who were celebrated during a pregame ceremony on Saturday, the PacWest tournament offers an opportunity to extend their legacy. The senior group includes Holboke, Castro, Taylor Donnot, and Ashley Sorensen.