Dominican University dropped its first game of the shortened season as Fresno Pacific waltzed out of the Conlan Center with a 76-63 victory.
 
The first Penguins points of the year came off the hands of senior Julia Razo courtesy of a layup off her own rebound. Fresno responded with an 8-0 run before that streak was snapped by another Razo bucket, this time from inside the paint. A pair of 3-pointers were traded by Fresno's Felicia Dourva and Dominican's Brittney Cedeno before Riley Friauf tallied her first points as a Penguin, bringing the score to 11-9. 
 
The two teams traded points until the media timeout halfway through the first quarter, with Fresno leading 15-13. Camryn Figueroa headed to the free throw line coming out of the break, going 2-for-2 from the stripe and bring the score even. The Sunbirds would enjoy a brief stint in the Dominican defensive end before Friauf gathered a rebound for the Penguins and dished it off to junior Erryanna Hatfield who converted on a long jumper, giving Dominican its first lead of the game since its opening possession. 
 
A Eurostep by Sunbirds forward Joleen Corona would give Fresno an abbreviated advantage before Friauf converted on a mid-ranger jumper. Figueroa would then convert on a coast-to-coast drive that concluded with a quick bucket for the Penguins. The first quarter would end in favor of Dominican as it held onto a 24-22 lead. Razo and Figueroa led the scoreboard in the first quarter against Fresno, each earning six points.  
 
Jordan Charlton started the 2021 block part for Dominican early in the second quarter, but Fresno's Bayli McClard would later convert on the same possession. Razo would continue her first half dominance with a 3-pointer on the Penguins' next trip down the floor, followed by a pair of points from Friauf that extended Dominican's lead to 29-24. 
 
Cedeno forced a Sunbird turnover via foul with just over five minutes remaining in the half, and Dominican would capitalize on the change of possession courtesy of a Friauf made free throw that brought the score to 32-29. Stalwart Penguin defending would begin to write its own narrative late in the second half as the Sunbirds' next possession would also end with an offensive foul as Figueroa stood tall inside the paint. Friauf would earn a bucket on Dominican's next trip down the court, a basket that was quickly answered by a Breanna Hurt layup for Fresno. Dominican held tight to a three-point lead going into the final media timeout of the half. 
 
Friauf continued to make the free throw line her home as she earned herself a pair of shots before the timeout, converting on one of the two and giving Dominican a two-possession lead. After a pair of converted free throws by Fresno, Cedeno would lob a cross-court hail Mary to Cedeno who immediately converted on a catch-and-shoot from behind the arc, giving Dominican a 38-33 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the half. 
 
Dominican fostered a 39-38 lead with under a minute remaining, but a made bucket after an offensive rebound off a missed free throw would give Fresno a one-point lead. The Sunbirds would keep that possession going into the half, leading Dominican 41-40. 
 
The Penguins roster owned the game's three leading scorers in the first half, with Razo (13), Friauf (11) and Figueroa (10) all reaching double digits. Cedeno led all players with five assists while Friauf found herself one assist shy of a first half double-double. A pair of freshmen saw the collegiate court for the first time in their post-secondary careers with Ysobelle Eustaquio and Julianne Ho both earning time in the first half. 
 
Cedeno would continue the dynamic defending for the Penguins with a steal to start the half, but Fresno would soon earn the first two buckets of the third frame after a pair of Penguin misses. 
 
Figueroa put the Penguins back on the score sheet with a driving layup to bring the score within one until Fresno's Vanessa Cochrane drained a step-back three to give the Sunbirds a four-point lead. Dominican found itself in a scoring slump early in the second half, scoring just a single bucket in a span of exactly seven minutes to start the half. Hatfield would bring the score back to within one before Razo forced an offensive foul on the Sunbirds' next possession. Eustaquio earned herself her first collegiate points with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter, a bucket that would keep everyone on edge as it rattled off the rim before finding the twine. The third frame would prove to be the lowest scoring quarter of the game with the two teams combining for just 19 points as Fresno led 52-49.
 
 Cochrane would start the scoring in the final frame with a 3-pointer before Jessica Malazarte connected on a mid-range jumper. Razo returned the favor on the other end of the floor with a deep bucket of her own, cutting the lead to six. Friauf converted on a bucket from in close on the next trip down the floor to bring the Penguins within three before Eustaquio made her second bucket of the game soon after. The two buckets were separated by a converted foul shot on the Penguins defensive end, bringing the score to 58-56.
 
Fresno would extend its lead to seven before Friauf would, again, find the basket for Dominican, earning her 15^th point of the night. Julianne Ho earned an assist on the Friauf bucket, etching her name on the score sheet for the first time in her collegiate career. 
 
A driving layup by Fresno's Rachel Berry gave Fresno a nine-point lead with 4:30 remaining, a lead that was soon cut to seven courtesy of a Razo layup. Malazarte answered on the other end of the floor for Fresno before Friauf would continue the scoring frenzy, bringing the game to 69-62. Fresno would then continue to extend its lead as Dourva converted on a 3-pointer before Hurt also earned a bucket for the Sunbirds, bringing the score to 74-62. 
 
Haley Stewart was inserted into the game for her first collegiate minutes with 1:13 remaining in the game, an introduction that was seemingly celebrated as Friauf converted on a shot from the foul line. That celebration was short lived as Jolene Corona extended the Sunbirds' lead to 13 with 33 seconds remaining in the game, a lead that would hold as Fresno walked out of the Conlan Center with a 76-63 win. 
 
Friauf and Razo shared the scoring lead for Dominican with 18 points apiece, while Friauf earned herself her first double-double while donning the Dominican colors, adding 15 rebounds to her stat line. Cedeno lead the way with five assists for the Penguins, while Figeuroa finished the game with 12 points and rounded out the top three scorers for Dominican.