FRESNO, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball got off to a slow start in its first game in the month of February as it fell 90-58 Friday afternoon to Fresno Pacific at the Special Events Center.

Senior Riley Friauf led the Penguins (0-3, 0-3 PacWest) with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Junior Camryn Figueroa and freshman Hailey Stewart each added 12 points for Dominican. Jessica Malazarte led the Sunbirds (6-5, 6-1 PacWest) with 20 points, while Rachel Berry had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

FPU got off to a strong start in the first quarter as Vanessa Cochrane capped a 13-1 run with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 20-7 with three minutes left in the quarter. Jessica Malazarte then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to end the quarter with the Sunbirds in front by 19.

Dominican found more rhythm in the second quarter as freshman Julianne Ho stole the ball and threw it ahead to Figueroa for the fastbreak layup to cap a 6-0 run that cut the lead to 33-19 FPU with six minutes until half. After five quick points by the Sunbirds, Stewart answered with five points of her own as Cedeno found her for the layup on back-to-back possessions to keep the deficit at 14 with 3 minutes left on the clock. Megan Sheret though powered a 9-0 run to end the quarter with four points to make it 47-24 at the break.

Malazarte sparked the Sunbirds to start the second half with a 3-pointer and Rachel Berry hit a short jumper to push the lead to 28 in the first two minutes. FPU then took advantage of several turnovers to push the lead to 34 with Joleen Corona and Rachel Berry each accounting for four points. The Penguins were unable to regain their second quarter form as the Sunbirds pushed the lead to as many as 42 points in the fourth quarter.

Dominican and Fresno Pacific will face off again Saturday at 3 p.m. PST at Tobin Gymnasium in Oakland. Live stats and video will be available online, check our schedule page for more information.