SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball ran out of time in a late comeback attempt falling 83-74 Thursday night to Concordia University Irvine at the Conlan Center.

Senior forward Jerusha Paine continued her domination inside with 27 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Julia Razo had a season-high 20 points for the Penguins (8-14, 5-11 PacWest) on 4-for-7 shooting from behind the arc. Freshman guard Brittney Cedeno nearly tallied her first triple-double with 13 points, nine assists and six rebounds. 

Michaela Vanderklugt led the Eagles (12-7, 10-4 PacWest) with 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Kennedy Fulcher also tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. CUI held a 42 -33 advantage on the boards including 13 offensive rebounds. 

Fulcher sparked an early 10-0 run finishing through contact for a 3-point play while also adding an assist and a steal to take the 14-5 lead with 4:31 remaining in the quarter. Sierra Clark knocked down a shot behind the arc for the Eagles and Vanderklugt found Savannah Felix-Amoroso under the hoop for two more to extend the lead to 13 and CUI held on for a 25-14 lead heading into the second.

Cedeno sparked Dominican in the second as she cut down the lane for two before grabbing a rebound and finding Camryn Figueroa on a long outlet pass for another layup to cut back within nine in the first minute of play. Lainie James gave the Eagles a 34-20 lead on a 3-pointer with 7:08 remaining, but the Penguins would not let the lead grow any wider. 

CUI coach Christine Collins-Kiernan picked up a technical foul near the midway point of the quarter and Paine used the two free-throws to catch fire as she scored six straight for the Penguins in a 12-2 run to get back within four. Razo knocked down a 3-pointer from the elbow to cut the lead to two and then followed a Paine layup with a 15-foot jumper to give Dominican the 44-42 lead at the half.

The teams traded points in the first five minutes of the second half as Cedeno tied the game 51-51 on a cut to the basket for a layup, but James scored seven points in a 14-0 Eagle run to retake the lead for good. CUI pushed its lead to as many as 18, but Paine got loose underneath for the final six points of an 8-0 run to cut it to 10 with 3:36 remaining. The Eagles held off any additional runs as they took home the victory.

The Penguins will finish out its four-game homestand Saturday as they take on the University of Hawai'i at Hilo at 5:30 p.m. PST at the Conlan Center. Dominican will be celebrating PRIDE Night with live stats and video available online.