La Mirada, Calif. – Dominican University of California overcame a 21-point second half deficit before earning a dramatic victory over conference foe Biola University at the final buzzer. 

"This was one of the best games I've ever seen," head coach Tim Lakose said. "Biola came out and played an amazing game which put us in a big hole, however, our team perservered and played our best basketball of the season to get the win."

The evening started with a pair of Biola 3-pointers that were separated by a Jordan Charlton lay-in that brought the score to 6-2 in favor of Biola before the first minute of the game had elapsed. Senior Errayanna Hatfield returned the favor with a long-ball of her own to set the score at 8-7 before graduate student Riley Friauf gave Dominican its first lead with a mid-range jumper.

Charlton converted on another layup to halt a 7-0 Biola run halfway through the first quarter, setting the Eagle lead to 15-11. Friauf laid-in her third and fourth points of the game with 3:36 remaining after Biola secured a pair of mini-runs to widen its lead, but another Eagle run ensued, this time a 9-0 streak, giving Biola a 29-15 lead after the first frame.

Senior Camryn Figueroa welcomed the teams back to the court with a successful free throw that preceded a Friauf layup, then followed by a jumper in the paint courtesy of senior Brittney Cedeno. The short 5-0 run was brought to a close when Natasa Radovic converted on a jumper from in-close, but Cedeno provided an immediate answer with a 3-pointer to bring Dominican within eight.

Five consecutive Eagle points were followed by an Alaiyah San Juan conversion from deep, but a late layup from Biola's Sydney Moran gave Biola a 12-point, 38-26 advantage as the teams left the court for their respective locker rooms.

"Biola could not miss in the first quarter, they were hitting every shot they took," Cedeno said. "Going into the second quarter we started to chip at the lead, but going into halftime we knew we had dug ourselves a hole. We knew it was all about staying positive and building off the good things we did, and this team is full of fighters. There is not one person on this team who is not a fighter, so we just went to war with them."

Biola continued to dig the hole deeper when it started the half on an 11-2 run to set the score to 49-28, leading by 21. Dominican then battled back with an impressive 10-2 run of its own, highlighted by Friauf and freshman Alex Salise combining to go a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

Dominican traded a Biola layup for a Salise 3-pointer to bring it one point closer, but three consecutive Eagle points brought the lead back to 15. San Juan connected on another ball from beyond the arc before Cedeno hit a jumper to continue the Penguin comeback with Friauf also connecting on a late charity shot that brought the score to 58-47.

Cue the comeback.

Cedeno and graduate student Abreanna Lake hit consecutive baskets as Biola continued to play on its heels while Dominican continued to relentlessly attack. Friauf later converted on a layup and a pair of free throws, preceding San Juan's second-most clutch 3-pointer of the evening, bringing Dominican within four with the score reading 62-58.

Dominican would get as close as two after a pair of Friauf layups, but Biola distanced itself after converting on a layup and 3-ball to increase its lead to seven with 4:03 remaining. San Juan stopped the storm after converting on a mid-range jumper before Dominican stole the show, quite literally, with Cedeno forcing a turnover before junior Maiya Flores setup Salise for a lay-in. Biola again was forced to turn the ball over courtesy of relentless Penguin pressure on its next possession, leading to a Cedeno layup after San Juan stole the ball from Biola before sending Cedeno towards the hoop.

Trailing by just one with nine seconds remaining, Dominican was forced to foul in a last-ditch effort to preserve any possible fraction of time that was remaining on the clock. Biola went 1-of-2 on its trip to the line, giving itself a 68-66 lead with time running out.

"Out of the timeout, our coaches said they were looking to give it to me, Riley (Friauf) or Brittney (Cedeno)," San Juan said. "Riley tried to set a screen and come off it, but it wasn't there, so I passed the ball back out to Brittney. I got the ball back from her and knew I had to let it go."

The Penguins called a timeout following the Biola basket, allowing them to set up on their offensive side of the half-court line. San Juan set herself free while a pair of Biola defenders were left tangled up after Friauf single-handily screened them both, allowing Cedeno to safely get the ball inbounds. San Juan dribbled to her left but was immediately met by a defender, so the ball was quickly returned to Cedeno.

Cedeno looked to the key for an open Friauf after receiving the ball from San Juan, but Friauf didn't have the space she hoped. Needing a quick reassessment of the situation, Cedeno checked to her left and noticed a cushion of space between San Juan and her defender. Cedeno returned the ball to San Juan, and in one motion, San Juan caught the pass and heaved the ball towards the basket from outside the arc, converting on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Dominican a 69-68 victory.

"When it went up, I knew it was going in. We were crowded, but not crowded enough," Cedeno said.

Friauf finished with a game-high 19 points while also adding eight rebounds. San Juan tallied 14 points and four assists, with Cedeno adding 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists.

"We are bringing a lot of energy to CUI on Monday," Cedeno said. "We are going to celebrate tonight, but tomorrow we lock into CUI. We are in such a good head space right now."   

Dominican's success was also achieved on the defensive end of the ball as the team forced an unearthly 27 turnovers while notching 14 steals with 24 points coming off turnovers.

"We came out a little passive which is not who we are, but we turned the switch on and really picked up the pressure which helped us create enough chaos to get back in the game," associate head coach Greg Rahn said. "All the credit belongs to our players for believing, staying positive and never giving up."

Dominican will celebrate the win tonight before heading back to work tomorrow in preparation for Monday's clash against Concordia University Irvine at 1 p.m. PST.