HONOLULU – Dominican women's basketball never trailed as it defeated Chaminade 71-57 Friday night at McCabe Gym.

Senior forward Natalie Diaz had a great all-around game for the Penguins (18-3, 15-2 PacWest), finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Alanna Scott scored a team-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds. Junior point guard Vanessa Cruz added 13 points, junior guard Marisa Mondave chipped in 12 and senior guard Anjelica Collins finished with 11 to put all five starters into double-figure scoring for the first time this year.

Destiny Castro scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Silverswords (4-15, 3-12 PacWest), while Hunter Liftee added nine points and nine rebounds. Dominican held Chaminade to 35.5 percent shooting from the field and 26.7 percent from behind the arc and forced 16 turnovers. The Penguins shot well from behind the arc, knocking down 44.8 percent of its shots, despite struggling to knock down its shots inside.

Dominican started strong as Cruz sunk a 3-pointer to open the game and Diaz and Scott each added five points to take a 13-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first quarter. The Silverswords were able to find holes in the Penguins defense in the final five minutes of the quarter, but Mondave and Collins each knocked down 3-pointers to stop any momentum Chaminade had and send Dominican into the second with a 21-10 lead. 

Castro made plays on both ends of the court for the Silverswords to open the second quarter on a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 26-24 with 6:04 remaining in the half. The Penguins looked to Mondave to get something going on offense and she knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to extend the lead back to eight in a 40-second span. Chaminade kept chipping away closing it to four with under a minute left in the half as Dominican struggled to find its offensive groove. However, the Silverswords failed to account for Collins in the left corner and she buried the 3-pointer to make it 39-32 at the break.

Scott answered made jumpers by Chaminade with 3-pointers to slowly build the lead back to nine with 4:52 on the third-period clock. Diaz and Sydney Larocca each connected on shots in the paint in the final minutes of the quarter to make it 53-41 heading to the fourth. 

Both defenses tightened up in the fourth quarter as the teams combined to score four points in the opening three minutes. Castro scored the next seven points for the Silverswords to cut their deficit to five, but Scott responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to stop the run. Diaz then found Cruz in the right corner for another make behind the arc to make it 61-50 with 4:18 remaining. 

Chaminade would not be deterred and Arianna Blowe banked in a long two to cut the lead to seven, but Diaz powered through contact for a layup on the other end to keep a three-possession lead. With the clock ticking down, Chaminade was forced to foul to prolong the game, but Dominican went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final minutes to seal its victory.

The Penguins will wrap up its Hawaiian trip Sunday against the University of Hawai'i at Hilo at 5 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Live stats and video will be available online.