CARSON, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball fell 75-56 Thursday night to Cal State Dominguez Hills after struggling in the first and fourth quarters at the Torodome.
Isobel Crosswhite led the Penguins with 10 points off the bench to go with four rebounds and a block. Asia Jordan scored a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with six assists. While the shooting percentages were similar CSUDH took full advantage of its steals holding a 22-10 advantage on points off turnovers.
Kya Pearson sparked the Toros early as she hit a pull-up 3-point jumper to start the game and Jordan helped continue the momentum during the run with six points including a jumper to make it 15-0 three minutes in. Dominican's offense began to find some success as they knocked down a few shots to keep the lead from growing and
Alyssa Alvarado knocked down a 3-pointer with under a minute and Crosswhite hit a jumper from the baseline to cut the gap to 11 heading to the second.
The teams continued to trade points in the second quarter until
Mikayla Amoroso sank a 3-pointer from the left elbow and Abigail Cooper swept down the lane for a layup to bring Dominican back within eight at 25-33 with five minutes on the clock. The Penguins scored four more down the stretch to end on a 9-2 run entering the break trailing by two possessions at 35-29.
After Cooper knocked down a pair of shots from the free-throw line to open the half,
Alex Salise connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to bring the deficit to a single digit with 8:32 left in the the third.
Taylor Linzie briefly gave the Penguins a lead with a putback two minutes later, but Hosana Walker knocked home a 3-pointer on the other end and Malia Goldsmith added another to rebuild a 43-38 lead for the Toros. CSUDH pushed the lead back to double-digits with another Goldsmith 3-pointer and it took the 52-44 lead into the final period of play.
The fourth quarter was reminiscient of the first as Dominican struggled to find its offense and the Toros pulled away for the win.
Dominican will wrap up its road trip Saturday as it takes on Cal State San Bernardino at 1 p.m. PDT at Coussoulis Arena.
