San Rafael, Calif. – Clutch plays and emphatic effort down the stretch led Dominican University of California (17-9 overall, 14-5 PacWest) to a 68-65 victory over the University of Hawaii at Hilo (13-9 overall, 10-8 PacWest) while boasting a six game win streak.

"We knew it was going to be tough, Hilo has been playing really well," head coach Tim Lakose said. "I thought we started great, but to Hilo's credit, they kept fighting. We are two playoff contenders, these are fun games to be a part of and I am excited we came out on top."

Graduate student Riley Friauf corralled an offensive rebound before laying it back up for the first basket of the afternoon. Junior Brittney Cedeno then took a trip from coast to coast on Dominican's next trip down the floor, also laying the ball in to double the Penguins' lead, preceding a Friauf Euro step after the Vulcans hit a pair of free throws.

The Friauf frenzy didn't stop as she connected on another bucket after receiving a pass from graduate student Jordan Charlton on the next trip down the floor, giving her six points in the game's opening two minutes. Senior Camryn Figueroa drained the game's first long ball after she sent a ball from the corner that kissed the glass on its way to the twine, extending the Dominican lead to 11-2 while also forcing a Hilo timeout.

The Vulcans tallied on a basket on their first possession following the timeout, but Dominican provided a quick answer in the form of an Alaiyah San Juan layup after beating her defender to the rim from the baseline. Friauf etched a pair of free throws to give Dominican an 11 point lead, then extending the lead on the next possession after draining her 9^th and tenth points of the game near the halfway point of the opening frame.

Charlton stayed strong in the paint when she met a Vulcan under the rim before sending the ball to the floor with a thunderous block to give the Penguins possession, with another Dominican steal coming the next time the Vulcans crossed the half court, this time by Cedeno. Charlton connected on a driving layup following a Vulcans basket, followed by a Vulcans 3-pointer with 35 ticks left on the clock. Senior Errayanna Hatfield drained the final field goal of the quarter after receiving a sneaky inbound from Cedeno who noticed the opposition sleeping, then stepping back to drain the bucket before a pair of Hilo free throws set the score to 23-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Hilo's Sara Shimizu hit a reverse lay-in to start the ensuing frame, but Figueroa provided a quick answer with a pair of Penguin points from the stripe. A 6-0 Vulcans run ensued, capped off by a 3-pointer to bring them within four, but graduate student Abreanna Lake halted the run with a jumper before a Friauf rejection on the other end rolled out the red carpet for a Charlton 3-pointer to put Dominican back up nine. The teams traded deep shots as Hilo answered with a 3 of its own, then hitting a layup before Friauf collected another basket to bring the score to 32-26.

Hilo hit another 3-pointer as palpable energy welcomed itself into the Conlan Center, with Charlton notching a layup following a media timeout. Bree Olson immediately answered for the Vulcans with a layup of her own, with the Vulcans then pulling even as they notched another 3-pointer before following suit on the next possession to pull ahead by three. Hilo added a pair of buckets before the horn buzzed to alert the end of the half as they took a 43-36 advantage into the locker rooms.
 
Friauf gathered an offensive rebound before putting it back for a pair of points to bring the Penguins within one after a couple minutes had passed by, but the teams continued trading baskets as Hilo held its three point lead. A loose ball eventually found the hands of San Juan who heaved it to Cedeno as she drove to the basket to bring Dominican back within a single point.

A Cedeno steal on the defensive end set up Charlton for an open lay-in that put her team ahead by a point after she received a pass from Friauf, with Cedeno again giving her team possession just moments later when she stole the ball at half court which prompted a quick Dominican timeout as it sought to gather itself following the change of possession. Hatfield capitalized on the newfound opportunity with a successful free throw to put Dominican up by a bucket before she tallied a midrange jumper to put her team up four.

Hilo hit another 3-pointer to shrink the deficit to one before taking the lead a pair of possessions later. Friauf snagged another offensive rebound before putting the ball in after a quick dribble to swing the lead back into Dominican's favor, with San Juan making the final play of the quarter when she intercepted a Hail Mary pass with time expiring to keep her team up 53-52 with one quarter remaining.

"Coach always says 'inside out' and I trust our guards to make shots if they're doubling down on me," Friauf said. "I made it a priority to get the rebounds when they were there, I just want to give my team the best shot at winning."
San Juan dribbled through the lane before putting up a left hander to open the scoring in the final corner, followed by a Friauf rejection on the opposite side of the court as she continued to lay claim of the paint on both sides of the floor. Lake converted both of her free throws to put Dominican up five, but consecutive Hilo points brought the visitors back within a point.

San Juan looked up court with 6:19 remaining and found a streaking Friauf before sending it directly into her hands as Friauf finished the play with a hoop and the harm. Hilo tied the game on the next possession as its shooting from deep stayed hot, setting the score to 59-59 with just over six minutes to go, taking the lead moments later before the teams broke for a media timeout.

The ball found the twine again following the media timeout as an unlikely Hilo shot was converted while the shot clock expired despite a great effort from freshman Alex Salise on defense. Friauf drew an offensive foul before draining a shot from the strip to make it a one possession game with the Dominican defense standing strong on the defensive end, forcing three straight shots that came with no time remaining on the shot clock.

Lake brought Dominican within one from the foul line before Hilo called a timeout with 1:49 remaining with the score reading 63-62 in favor of the Vulcans. Lake forced a timely turnover following the break, with Friauf getting sent to the line on the ensuing play before making it a one point game in favor of the Penguins. The momentum made a complete shift directly into the welcoming hands of Dominican who forced a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbound before Salise climbed the ladder to snag a rebound and keep it in the hands of the Penguin offense.

"We really needed that rebound," Salise said. "Even though I am one of the shorter players, I can get up there. We needed this win, I knew that if there was a chance for me to come down with it then I needed to take it, I went in there for the chance and I got it."

An eventual shot clock violation gave Hilo the ball back as it trailed by one, with the visitors going ahead by one when Mandi Kawaha converted on a driving layup. San Juan, as she has done all year, came up clutch in the final seconds of the game when she crossed her defender to create space before drilling a jumper from the middle of the key to put Dominican up 66-65 with under nine seconds remaining, also forcing a Hilo timeout. The clutch play continued, this time on the defensive side when Lake and Salise came together to steal the ball away from the Vulcans on what could have been a game winning basket for the visitors, with Salise putting the finishing touches on the game with a pair of successful shots the came from the stripe after Hilo was forced to foul. The foul shots iced the game as Dominican left the floor with an important 68-65 victory.

"Like I always say, I practice those types of shots," San Juan said. "This game, I wasn't really hitting anything, but I knew when I got to my spot that the shot was going down, and that's just how it went."

Friauf finished with another double-double, notching 25 points and 13 rebounds while also tallying a pair of blocks. Cedeno added five points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Charlton provided nine points, five rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal.

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