AZUSA, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball could not hold off Pacific West Conference front-runner Azusa Pacific as it lost a second-half lead and fell 94-70 Saturday evening at the Felix Event Center.
 
Senior forward Natalie Diaz led the Penguins (21-5, 18-4 PacWest) with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Marisa Mondave added 21 points, all in the first quarter, to go with five rebounds.
 
Rachel Bozlee led the Cougars (24-4, 21-1 PacWest) with 32 points on 10 makes from behind the arc, breaking her own school record. Laura Pranger came through in the second half for APU with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks.
 
Two steals by Alanna kept the Penguins ahead early before Mondave knocked down a 3-pointer and a 20-foot jumper to put them in front 12-6 four minutes into the game. The teams continued to trade blows with Savanna Hanson and Mondave answering each other from behind the arc and Dominican led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Mondave hit a long 3-pointer to open the scoring to start the second quarter as the Penguins were able to extend its lead into double figures at 25-14 with 8:23 remaining in the half. Cierra Roufosse scored five quick points in a 10-2 run as the Cougars closed their deficit to 27-24 three minutes later. Bozlee knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner and Samantha Huddleston added a fastbreak layup to tie the game at 32 with four minutes until halftime.
 
Edina del Rosario knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession and then Diaz followed up with a layup through contact to give the Penguins back the 37-32 lead. Mondave and Anjelica Collins each knocked down 3-pointers to push the run to 11-2 and make it a nine-point game with two minutes until the break. The teams traded points for the next few minutes and Dominican took a 45-39 lead into the break.
 
Diaz knocked down her first 3-pointer of the night and then made a runner in the lane on her next trip down the floor to keep the Penguins out in front early 50-43. Bozlee continued her hot shooting from behind the arc with two more and a steal and score by Alex Lowden helped the Azusa Pacific take a 55-52 lead. Diaz would not let them take the momentum so easily as she again powered through contact and converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to tie the game with 4:08 left in the period.
 
The game remained close until Bozlee connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to close the quarter and give APU the 67-60 lead heading to the final period. Diaz tried to pull her team back into the game with the first seven points of the fourth for Dominican to cut the deficit to 71-67 and force a Cougar timeout. The Penguins had several chances to cut it closer by Laura Pranger came through with several blocks in the key and APU went on a 12-0 run to take a 16-point lead with three minutes remaining. It would be too much to overcome for the Penguins
 
Dominican will return home as it hosts the PacWest Basketball Championships March 7-9. The Penguins first game will be Friday at 5 p.m. PST against the winner of Hawai'i Pacific and Concordia University Irvine at the Conlan Center.