SEASIDE, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball held off a furious second-half comeback attempt by Cal State Monterey Bay to win 73-68 Sunday afternoon at The Kelp Bed.
Senior forward
Jerusha Paine recorded her second straight double-double for the Penguins (3-1) with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Senior guard
Marisa Mondave added 16 points, including four late free throws to seal the win, while junior guard
Julia Razo chipped in 12 points.
Katie Fitzgerald finished with 16 points for the Otters (0-2) and the team forced 25 turnovers and grabbed 11 offensive boards, but it was not enough to complete the comeback. Dominican held CSUMB to 36.1% shooting from the field and 22.2% from behind the arc to offset the turnovers and rebounds.
The Otters took advantage of its 3-point shooting in the first quarter as small runs helped them build a lead. Siana Fields hit from behind the arc with three minutes remaining in the period to give CSUMB a large lead of seven, but
Brittney Cedeno knocked down a jumper and Razo connected on a pair of free throws to keep the game within one possession.
Razo opened the second period with the Penguins' first 3-pointer in the corner off an assist from Mondave to tie the game. Dominican held the Otters scoreless for the first six minutes of the period and Paine pounded the paint for eight points as the offense pushed the run to 18-0 to take the 36-21 lead.
Camille Parker ended the run with a jumper with 3:49 remaining and then had back-to-back steals leading to fastbreak layups to keep the Otters' momentum rolling. Serena Toney hit a 3-pointer after another Penguin turnover to cap off the 9-point run to cut its deficit to 36-30 with 2:29 to play in the half. Mondave ended the half with a driving layup to send Dominican into the break leading 39-30.
Razo and Mondave each knocked down 3-pointers and Cedeno stole the ball and took it down the court for a layup to push the lead back to 13 in the first three minutes of the second half. Fitzgerald converted a 3-pointer through contact and made the ensuing free throw to swing momentum to CSUMB. Parker then knocked down a transition jumper to cut the deficit to seven with two minutes left in the period.
The Penguins entered the fourth leading by six and Mondave knocked down a 3-point jumper for the corner to push the lead to nine, but turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed the Otters to keep the game close. Lizzy Benton scored five consecutive points to cap a 9-0 run to tie the game with six minutes remaining.
Paine hit a free throw for the only points for the next three minutes before maneuvering in the paint for a layup to give Dominican a three-point advantage with two minutes left in regulation. Fitzgerald knocked down a jumper to with 1:26 left to keep the Otters within one, but
Sydney Larocca found Paine inside for another layup to keep the lead at three heading into the final minute of play.
The Penguins missed four consecutive free throws and Sylvia Vartazarian cut the lead to one with a layup but she then turned the ball over with 14 seconds left to give the ball back to Dominican. Mondave hit both her attempts from the charity stripe to push the lead back to three at 71-68 with 10 seconds remaining. Fitzgerald missed the tying 3-point attempt with five seconds remaining and Mondave drew a foul on the rebound and made both free throws to seal the game.
The Penguins will have a week to rest up before heading to Arcata for the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Humboldt State. Dominican will begin with Cal State East Bay on Friday, Nov. 29, at 5 p.m. PST at Lumberjack Arena. Live stats and video will be available online.
