SAN FRANCISCO – Dominican women's basketball weathered some hot second half shooting by San Francisco State before pulling away late for a 64-53 victory Friday night at The Swamp.
Kaylyn Buchanon finished with a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds and five steals for the Penguins (3-0).
Janiya Sawyer came off the bench to score 11 with
Mahliya Wilson finishing with 10 points and two steals. The Gators (2-1) spread the ball around with Leilani Blecha and Gianna Darte each scoring nine with Darte collecting six boards as well. Dominican's defense proved the difference as it forced 30 San Francisco State turnovers resulting in a 29-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Gators got off to a good start as Darte knocked down a shot behind the arc and then found Athena Brombacher for a jumper to take a 5-2 lead in the first two minutes. The Penguins settled in working their way into the paint as Sawyer's layup gave them the 8-5 lead midway through the opening quarter. The offense was hard to come by for both teams as each team scored four points in the final five minutes.
Dominican took firm control of the momentum rolling in the second half as Buchanon hit a 3-pointer and
Keyonee Neal left a defender guarding air with a spin move for a layup to push the lead to double digits at 19-9 with seven minutes until the half. The Penguins defense remained unforgiving as they made it a 13-0 run with four more points from Buchanon before San Francisco State scored its first points of the quarter from the free throw stripe with 2:46 left on the first-half clock.
Alyssa Alvarado drove the lane for two and then hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the lead to 19.
Aryn Bright found Sofia Addiego in the corner for a 3-pointer to end the half on another high for Dominican as it led 35-15 heading to the locker room.
The Gators began to feel it from deep to start the second half as Blecha knocked down a pair from behind the arc and 3 free throws before Deonna Mayfield converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut their deficit to 12 at the midway point of the quarter. Buchanon settled her team down with three quick points and the Penguins pushed the pace as a layup by Neal pushed the lead back to 17 with three minutes left in the period. A technical foul and untimely turnover helped SF State to once again make it a 12-point game as Dominican took a 13-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
The Gators hot shooting from behind the arc continued in the fourth quarter as a pair of makes dropped the lead to six with 6:47 left in the game. Sawyer connected from the top of the arc and a put back from Wilson pushed the lead back to double-digits at 57-46 at the under five media timeout. Dominican kept the ball moving quickly as Buchanon found Sawyer cutting to the basket for two and Wilson stole the ball and took it the other way for two more to push the lead to 15. The Gators fought back within eight, but it was too little, too late for the comeback.
The Penguins will be back in action Saturday at the Swamp as they take on Cal State San Bernardino at 5 p.m. PST.
