IRVINE, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball rebounded for a 68-52 victory over Concordia University Irvine behind strong defensive play Saturday evening at CU Arena to earn a split on its first Southern California road trip.
Senior guard
Alanna Scott led the way on offense with 22 points for the Penguins (14-3, 11-2 PacWest), while sophomore guard
Sydney Larocca added 11 points. Junior point guard
Vanessa Cruz led the way on defense with six steals and five rebounds to go with five assists with senior forward
Natalie Diaz battling through foul trouble to finish with three blocks and two steals.
Jasmine Rachal led the Eagles (7-11, 6-7 PacWest) with 21 points. Kennedy Fulcher added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dominican overcame its own poor shooting night with great defense limiting CUI to 30.5 percent shooting from the field and 15 percent from behind the arc while grabbing 12 steals and creating 22 turnovers.
The Eagles grabbed several early offensive rebounds to help them to a 6-3 lead, but it would be short-lived as Scott scored the next four points to give the Penguins the lead and the momentum. Cruz connected on a 3-pointer before
Marisa Mondave cut down the middle of the lane for a layup and Dominican pushed the run to nine unanswered points for the 14-6 lead with 2:44 left in the first.
Anjelica Collins and Scott each hit midrange jumpers to open up the second period and push the Dominican lead to 11 in the first three minutes. CUI was able to slowly chip away at the lead and Fulcher grabbed another offensive rebound and laid the putback in off the glass to cut the Penguin lead to 24-18. Dominican was able to keep the lead at two possessions for the remainder of the half and Larocca drew a foul and sank both free throws for a 33-25 lead at the intermission.
Riley Friauf knocked down four free throws to open the second half to trim the lead to four, but Collins and Scott knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to double figures one minute later. Diaz scored four of the next six points as the Penguins extended the lead to 45-30 at the midway point of the quarter.
Scott and Larocca continued to lead the offensive charge after Diaz picked up her fourth foul, pushing the lead to 19 points after a 6-0 run. The Eagles were able to trim a few points off the lead before the end of the quarter trailing 55-40 heading to the fourth.
Rachal hit a 3-pointer to bring CUI back to a 10-point deficit early in the fourth and Michaela Vanderklugt made it an 8-point game with a jumper on an inbounds pass with six minutes remaining. With the Eagles looking to grab the momentum down the stretch, Cruz stepped in front of a pass for a steal and layup to push the lead back to 12 with 3:43 left on the clock. That seemed to halt the Eagle momentum and the Penguins locked down the Eagles down the stretch, allowing them only 3-points, to seal the game.
The Penguins will return home to face Notre Dame de Namur on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. PST at the Conlan Center. Dominican will be hosting a Faculty and Staff Appreciation night with free admission for all Dominican employees. Live stats and video will be available online.
