SAN DIEGO – Dominican women's basketball fell 82-74 to Point Loma Nazarene University in a seesaw battle that saw 10 lead changes Thursday night at Golden Gymnasium. 

Seniors Natalie Diaz and Alanna Scott led the Penguins (13-3, 10-2 PacWest) with 24 points apiece. Diaz nearly finished with a triple-double adding nine rebounds and six assists, while Scott hit 62.5 percent of her shots from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc.

Cara Liggins powered the Sea Lions (9-10, 8-5 PacWest) with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Grace Brady and Carol Schroeder each added 15 points for PLNU.

Both teams traded points for the first five minutes of the game until Liggins sparked a 10-2 Sea Lion run with eight of her 16 first quarter points. Liggins hit a running floater for the final points of the quarter to lift PLNU to a 26-18 lead.

After Melanie Quijano gave the Sea Lions a brief double-digit lead, the Penguins began to find their offensive groove. Sydney Larocca grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to get the run started and then Diaz hit a 3-pointer from the left elbow before finding Vanessa Cruz in the corner for a 3-pointer on the next possession to cut their deficit to one. 

Diaz laid it in and hit again from behind the arc to continue the run and Marisa Mondave made it 18 consecutive points with a jumper and 3-pointer of her own to make it 38-29 Dominican. PLNU was able to slow the momentum as Sydney Peterson and Liggins knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, but Julia Razo answered with a 3-pointer of her own to send Dominican into the half with a 44-39 lead.

Sydney Peterson and Carol Schroeder got the Sea Lions out to a strong start once again in the second half as they opened on a 12-point run to take a 52-44 lead. Scott provided the answer from the Penguins as she knocked down two 3-pointers in an 11-2 run to retake the lead briefly, but PLNU scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 58-55 lead into the fourth.

The Sea Lions were able to rebuild a 7-point lead early in the final quarter, but Scott once again led the charge with nine points during an 11-2 run to give the Penguins a 71-69 lead with a layup with 4:44 left in the game. Schroeder laid it in and followed up with a 3-pointer to give PLNU back the lead at 74-71.

Dominican kept it close and Scott got open with a chance to give the Penguins back the lead with a 3-pointer from the right elbow with 31 seconds left on the clock, but her shot fell short and Diaz fouled Liggins to try fouling out of the game in an attempt to preserve time for her team. The Sea Lions knocked down their free throws to seal the game.

The Penguins will continue its road trip against Concordia University Irvine on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PST. Live stats and video will be available online.