Penguin Radio Broadcast

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Senior forward Natalie Diaz made Dominican women's basketball history as she led it to an 87-61 victory Thursday night over Biola University at the Conlan Center.

"We came out really strong tonight," head coach Tim LaKose said. "[Biola] was keying off of Nat and that opened up opportunities for others to take advantage. It was nice to see the balance inside and out." 

The Penguins built a lead with balanced scoring throughout the first three quarters, but history would be made in the fourth quarter. Diaz cut into the paint for a layup with seven minutes remaining and then followed up with a jumper to break the all-time scoring record with 1,566 points, previously held by Alisha Flaaten since 2010. The lead grew to as many as 31 points on the way to the Dominican victory.

"It was a well-deserved record," LaKose said. "She is one of the hardest workers I've coached. We've worked hard on her conditioning to make this her best year. Records are never earned alone and her teammates have helped her get to this point."

Diaz led the Penguins (11-2, 8-1 PacWest) with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Alanna Scott added 22 points off 4-for-6 shooting from behind the arc, while junior guard Vanessa Cruz added 14 points and six assists.

Jazz Benn led the Eagles (7-8, 5-4 PacWest) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Danita Estorga added 14 points off the bench. Dominican shot a blistering 50 percent from the floor and 45.8 percent from behind the arc, while holding Biola to 36.4 and 25 percent, respectively.

Diaz opened the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, a sign of things to come as the Penguins went on to score their first 12 points from behind the arc to take a 12-5 lead four minutes into the game. Vanessa Cruz led Dominican on a 17-4 run to end the quarter including a 3-pointer as time expired on the clock to make it 29-9 heading to the second.

Anjelica Collins hit a 3-pointer from the left elbow and drew a foul for a 4-point play to spark an 8-0 run to extend the Penguins lead to 26 with 7:36 left in the half. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the lead as Sara Dougan laid it in with 1:23 on the clock to make it 45-26. The teams traded buckets over the final minute and Dominican took a 47-28 lead into the locker room.

Diaz sank her second 3-pointer of the game and Scott added one of her own to cap an 8-2 run to extend the Penguins lead back to 25. The teams proceeded to exchange makes for the remainder of the period with Dominican leading 69-43 heading to the final period.

The Penguins will head on the road for the first time in a month as they take on Fresno Pacific at 5:30 p.m. PST Tuesday at the Special Events Center. Live stats and video will be available online.