SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican University women's basketball was unable to sustain a comeback attempt in an 83-62 loss Saturday to Azusa Pacific at the Conlan Center.
 
Jerusha Paine led the Penguins (10-16, 7-13 PacWest) with a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds. Julia Razo added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, while Camryn Figueroa finished with 10 points.
 
Savanna Hanson led the Cougars (22-4, 16-4 PacWest) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Daylee Hanson was right behind her with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting to go with four steals. Laura Pranger played strong defense in the paint finishing with nine blocks and nine rebounds.
 
Pranger sparked a 6-0 run with a hook shot to start the game. Dominican closed back within two quickly, but S. Hanson capped another 6-0 run with a 3-pointer to take a 15-4 lead. Cedeno drew the foul and made both free throws to halt the momentum and then stole the ball and hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run. Razo capped the run with a corner 3-pointer to give the Penguins a 14-13 lead with 2:56 left in the quarter. Alex Lowden hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Cougars back in front by five, but Paine found Razo cutting to the basket to cut it to 21-18 heading to the second.
 
Azuza Pacific took control of the second quarter as S. Hanson scored four points in a 9-0 run to take a 36-21 lead. The Penguins looked to stem the tide with a timeout with 4:57 left in the half. Free throws kept Dominican in the game but were unable to close the gap back to 11 at the half.
 
Paine looked to get the Penguins back in it early in the third with four quick points to pull within eight at 40-32. The teams continued to trade baskets, but Razo connected again from behind the arc to trim the lead to six and force an APU timeout with 4:07 left on the clock. S. Hanson answered out of the timeout with a 3-pointer of her own and the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to push its lead back to 15. D. Hanson then sparked a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 20 point lead in the concluding minute of the third quarter.
 
Alex Lowden started an Azuza Pacific 9-0 run with a layup and S. Hanson finished it with a jump shot to take its largest lead of the game of 27 points. It was all the room the Cougars would need as Dominican was unable to close the gap.
 
Dominican women's basketball will be back for its final home game of the season to celebrate their senior's contributions Thursday at 5:30 p.m. PST at the Conlan Center. Live video and stats with be available online.