Audio Archive

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.- The Dominican women's basketball team hosted Western Washington for a non-conference match-up Thursday night. This was the last home game for the Penguins in 2023, and they went out with a bang! Western Washington came into the game ranked No. 9/13 in the nation but that didn't rattle the Penguins. The victory over the Vikings marks the second time in program history defeating a top-10 team, and the first since the Penguins defeated APU in 2022.

After sitting out Tuesday's game with an injury, Jenna Duley wasn't going to miss this one. The senior leader led all scorers with 19 points while also dishing out five assists.
Both teams came out firing in the first period as they both shot more than 40 % from the field. Junior Alex Salise got things started for the Penguins as she drove past the Vikings defense and scooped it in for two. This was just the beginning for Salise as she went on for a season-high 13 points on 4 for 7 from the field. In the second period, the Vikings offense was taking over which led to them shooting 58% and leading by eight going into halftime.

Defense wins games, and defenses also changes the momentum. The Penguins came out of the lockers for the third period with one thing in mind, defense. Nine points was the key number in the third period. That's how many points the Vikings scored on 3 for 15 from the field. While the Penguins were locking down on defense, their offense started to get rolling.

Sophomore Hailey Hoff was a key contributor for the Penguins offense. The Pepperdine transfer came off the bench and provided 12 points, all from downtown. Hoff was brought in for her three-point abilities and she came through knocking down four on the night.

"Hailey came up big for us tonight," head coach Tim LaKose said. "She has battled through a lot, but her perseverance and hard work showed through as she made the most of her minutes."

To start the fourth period, both teams were tied at 54. Juniors Alaiyah San Juan and Andraya Perez hit some critical buckets for the Penguins in the fourth. However, there was no bigger sequence when Hoff got the ball late in the period. Following a long ball from teammate Perez, Hoff caught on fire hitting three straight from deep giving the Penguins a nine-point lead. Free throws late from Duley clinched the victory for the Penguins.

Dominican travels down south to face CUI Saturday Dec. 16th at 2 p.m.