SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Senior forward Natalie Diaz powered the Dominican women's basketball offense as it held off San Francisco State for the 68-64 victory Tuesday night at the Conlan Center.

Diaz tied her career-high for the second time this season with 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete the double-double for the Penguins (2-1). Senior guard Anjelica Collins and junior point guard Vanessa Cruz each added six points, while Collins finished with 10 rebounds and Cruz had eight.

Jhaina Stevens led the Gators (0-4) with 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while Amani Alexander finished with 15 points.

Dominican got out to an early lead thanks to four points from Diaz and Alanna Scott made it 6-2 as she pump-faked a defender and laid the ball in off the glass on a fast break four minutes into the game. The game remained tight throughout the period as neither team was able to get much going offensively and Stephens cut it to two for SFSU at 14-12 to end the period.

Stephens quickly tied the game in the second period as the teams traded baskets for the first half of the quarter. With the score tied 22-22, Sydney Larocca caught fire for the Penguins scoring six straight points before Diaz converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to cap the 9-2 run and send Dominican into the break leading 31-24.

Diaz kept the run going into the second half, connecting on a shot behind the arc before making two free throws to extend the lead to 36-24 in the first minute. The Gators began to slowly chip away as Amani Alexander sparked a 9-0 run with four quick points to close their deficit to three. Dominican continued to attack the paint, drawing fouls and hitting their free throws to extend its lead back to double-digits at 49-38 heading into the final quarter.

SFSU slowly began to fight their way back into the game, cutting the lead to single digits following a free-throw and layup by Toni Edwards with 4:10 remaining. Mackenzie Oribello then sparked an 8-1 run with a 3-pointer from the corner to help the Gators cut it to 61-60 with 1:19 remaining. Sophomore guard Julia Razo came through, cutting down the lane for a layup to push the lead back to three and then knocking down two free throws to push it to 65-60 with 15 seconds remaining. Senior guard Anjelica Collins then sealed the game with three makes from the charity stripe in the final seconds of the game.

Dominican will return to the court Thursday, Nov. 29, as it opens conference play against Concorida University Irvine at 5:30 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center. Live stats and video will be available.