Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball fell 94-68 to California Baptist at the Conlan Center Thursday night.
 
Junior Natalie Diaz put in 26 points to lead the Penguins (17-10, 11-8 PacWest). Senior Sandra Ikeora recorded a double-double, finishing with 25 points and 17 rebounds. Blaysen Varnadoe led the Lancers (16-11, 13- 6 PacWest) with 18 points.
 
CBU came out firing, connecting on four 3-pointers in the first quarter. Emma Meriggioli and Georgia Dale hit back-to-back triples late in the frame to give the Lancers a 19-10 advantage. After Diaz put in a layup, Lexi Ram poured in another triple to help CBU to a 22-14 after one period of play.
 
After freshman Julia Razo nailed a 3-pointer, Ikeora and Diaz each finished off driving layups to cut the Lancers' lead to 24-21. A couple of minutes later, freshman Sydney Larocca drove coast-to-coast before eurostepping her way to a layup, bringing Dominican within a point, 28-27. With just over three minutes left before halftime, Diaz tied the game, 33-33, with an elbow jumper. CBU closed the half strong, taking a 46-39 lead into the break.
 
The Penguins continued to battle in the third quarter, as Ikeora made a spinning post move before banking one in, trimming Dominican's deficit to 48-42.  Ikeora went to work from there, finishing another layup and later grabbing an offensive rebound for a putback, keeping the Penguins around at 54-48. Nearly midway through the period, Larocca stepped through a pair of defenders to complete a difficult and-1 to make it a five-point game. Just a minute later, sophomore Anjelica Collins knocked down a corner triple as the Dominican inched closer, 60-56. Emily Schmidt hit a jumper from the short corner as time expired in the quarter, allowing the Lancers to hold a 69-62 lead heading into the fourth.
 
CBU opened the fourth quarter on a game-sealing run, scoring the first 13 points of the frame to take an 82-62 lead. The Penguins were unable to get much closer from there as the Lancers held on for the win.
 
The Penguins take the court again Saturday as they host Fresno Pacific on Senior Night for a 2:00 p.m. tip. Live stats and video will be available online.