SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball posted a strong second half to take a 79-57 victory over the University of Hawai'i at Hilo Saturday night at the Conlan Center.

Senior forward Jerusha Paine led the Penguins (9-14, 6-11 PacWest) with her 12th double-double of the season of 27 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Jessica Armstrong came off the bench to add a career-high 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while senior guard Marisa Mondave returned from injury to add 14 points and six rebounds.

Kim Schmelz led the Vulcans (7-13, 6-10 PacWest) with 21 points, while Allie Navarette finished with 12 points and five rebounds. UHH's shooting fell ice-cold as it shot 27.3% from the field and 22% from behind the arc in the second half, while Dominican remained consistent throughout finishing 59.2% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.

The teams traded points for most of the first quarter, but the Vulcans were able to use small runs to build a six-point lead as Schmelz capped off the quarter with a 3-pointer and a free throw to make it 16-10. Paine found Armstrong on the break for two and added three points of her own in a 7-0 run to take the 19-18 lead with 5:02 left in the half. Once again the teams began to trade baskets until Schmelz knocked down back-to-back midrange jumpers to retake the lead and then beat the buzzer with a transition 3-pointer to take the 31-26 lead into the break.

Paine got Dominican off to a strong start with its first four points of the second half before Mondave knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 33 with 6:42 left in the quarter. The Penguins kept the run going as Paine converted two 3-point plays to bracket a 3-pointer by Julia Razo to make it 42-33 at the halfway mark of the period. Paine scored four more points in a quarter ending 9-point run to push the lead to 16 as the teams headed to the final period.

The Vulcans slowly chipped away at the lead in the fourth as Chyann Gabriel converted a fastbreak layup to make it 57-48 with 7:21 remaining in the game. Paine answered with a layup on the other end before Mondave cut through the lane for a layup and hit a midrange jumper to extend the lead back to 15 two minutes later. The Penguins lead grew to as many as 22 as they controlled the remaining five minutes of the game.

Dominican will have a week to prepare for Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. PST. Live video and stats will be available online.