SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, but fell short in an 80-74 loss to Chico State on Friday afternoon at the Conlan Center.

Senior forward Natalie Diaz tied her career high with 34 points to go with nine rebounds for the Penguins (0-1). Sophomore guard Sydney Larocca added 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Vanessa Holland and Mckena Barker each finished with 13 points for the Wildcats (1-0), while Shay Stark added 11 points and seven assists.

Dominican held Chico State to 39.7 percent shooting from the field, but the Wildcats collected 20 offensive rebounds for 13 second-chance points. The Penguins shot 42.6 percent from the field on the other end of the court, but their 3-point shooters went cold to the tune of 3-21 shooting from behind the arc.

Stark sparked Chico with five quick points in the first minute of the game, but Diaz finished through contact multiple times on her way to 12 points during a 15-2 run to give Dominican the 15-7 lead with 5:32 left in the period. The Penguins pushed the lead to nine points on a free throw from Larocca, but Barker sparked an 11-2 run with a make from behind the arc to send the game into the second period tied at 21.

Mikaila Wegenke led Chico State on a 9-0 run in the early part of the second quarter with four points, giving the Wildcats the 33-26 advantage with five minutes until the break. Diaz battled foul trouble in the second period and Dominican struggled to find its footing on offense in the period. After trading points for the next few minutes, Chico used a 10-point run to build a 45-32 lead heading into the locker room.

After trading points for most of the third quarter, senior guard Alanna Scott drained a 3-pointer to spark the Penguins on a late run. Junior guard Vanessa Cruz and Larocca cut their way to the glass for a layup each in the final 10 seconds of the period to cut the lead to 62-52 heading to the fourth.

Diaz finished the 6-0 run with a layup to start the fourth quarter to put the Penguins back within single digits for the first time since the second quarter. Wegenke quickly answered with a 3-pointer and the Wildcats rebuilt a 68-54 lead with 7:26 remaining on the clock. Dominican then went to a full-court press and forced Chico State into several turnovers, helping the Penguins to score nine unanswered points as a Diaz cut the lead to five on a free throw with 3:13 left in regulation. Dominican was able to cut the lead to four twice, but the Wildcats did just enough to hold them off for the win.

The Penguins will return to the court Saturday to take on Sonoma State at 2 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center. Live stats and video will be available online.