San Rafael, Calif. – Propelled by a fourth quarter scoring surge, Dominican University of California earned an important 85-75 victory over then-conference ranked No. 2 Academy of Art in the Conlan Center.
 
"Overall, we did a solid job. We cut down our turnovers towards the end of the game, and moving forward, that's what we're going to keep doing," junior Brittney Cedeno said.
 
Graduate student Riley Friauf started the scoring with back-to-back jumpers as senior Camryn Figueroa followed soon after with a successful foul shot. Urban Knight jumpers tied the game at 6-6 a few possessions later, but Dominican continued to set the pace with Figueroa draining the game's first 3-pointer just over halfway through the opening frame.
 
The Urban Knights battled for their first lead of the game, earning a 16-15 advantage after connecting on its first shot from beyond the arc, then expanding the lead on its next possession. Friauf brought Dominican within one with a jumper that also marked the Penguins' final basket of the half, but Art U free throw would eventually help give the Urban Knights a 19-17 lead after the opening quarter.
 
Milan Tuttle sank a 3-pointer on Art U's first possession of the ensuing quarter, but Friauf kept Dominican close as she netter the first four Penguin points of the stanza. Freshman Alaiyah San Juan grabbed the lead back for Dominican on an electrifying play that included her stealing the ball from Art U's Brooke Rodgers, then stepping behind the arc and drilling a 3-pointer moments after hitting a jumper, giving Dominican a two-point advantage as she notched five points in 10 seconds.
 
A 9-0 Urban Knights run that lasted until there was 2:48 remaining in the half, giving the visitors a 35-28 advantage, but the streak was stopped by a driving Figueroa layup. Figueroa kept her team within an arm's reach of Art U as she later connected on a jumper and another layup, while Friauf also added a pair of points as the Penguins found themselves within one heading into the half.
 
A 5-0 Dominican run gave the Penguins a 41-39 advantage after Art U collected the second half's opening bucket, but, in similar fashion, a 6-0 Urban Knights run was capped off by a Rodgers layup to give Art U a 47-41 lead. Cedeno hit a jumper in the paint to put the Penguins back on the board, but another short, 5-0 Art U run extended the lead it already had. Friauf and San Juan traded buckets with one another as the Urban Knights kept their foot on the gas pedal with a nine-point advantage, but successful free throws helped Dominican end the half on a 6-0 run as it looked to cue a comeback while trailing 57-53 heading into the final quarter.
 
Milan Tuttle connected on a shot from distance to extend the Art U lead to seven, but hot shooting from the free throw line kept Dominican nearby. Junior Maiya Flores swung the momentum into Dominican's favor when she connected on her first field goal of the game, draining a shot from deep to bring the home team within a point. Three consecutive Lauryn Manns points put the Urban Knights back up by four, but Dominican battled back to again find itself within one after a perfect set-play saw Cedeno inbound the ball to San Juan, who quickly returned the favor as she dished it back to a wide-open Cedeno who had taken just one step onto the court after sending the inbound pass before nailing an uncontested 3-pointer.
 
Manns again put her team up by four with just 4:29 remaining, but Friauf sharp shooting tied the game just a minute later after she converted on a jumper and a pair of foul shots. San Juan then did one of the things she does best, hitting a clutch 3-pointer with less than three minutes left to give Dominican its first lead since the early stages of the third quarter.
 
"I know that I can hit those shots. I trust myself, and my teammates trust me to make big shots," San Juan said. "I gotta do what I gotta do."
 
Cooler heads then prevailed after Art U was given a deflating technical after already having committed a foul, meaning that Dominican would be sent to the line for four straight foul shots while also being awarded the ball when the shooting clinic concluded. The Penguins made no mistake from the charity strike as San Juan and Friauf hit all four foul shots to give Dominican a late eight-point lead. Cedeno did her part by doing the same as she also successfully converted on her charity shots after drawing a foul, giving Dominican a 10-point lead that would hold until the end of the game as the Penguins celebrated an 85-75 victory over their conference foes. 

"The biggest problem for me over my college career was free throw shooting," Friauf said. "This year, they've become a second nature. I practiced my free throw shooting a lot over the summer, and it's paid off this year."
 
Friauf finished with yet another gargantuan stat line, earning 31 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three steals. San Juan posted some of her best stats of the season as she netted 17 points while tallying three assists and a pair of rebounds, followed closely by Figueroa who tallied 15 points and three steals. Cedeno rounded out the players with double digits as she finished with 11, also adding three assists and three steals.