SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball rode a dominant defensive performance to a 65-47 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday evening at the Conlan Recreation Center.
The Penguins (5-0) finished the game with eight blocks and 18 steals while forcing 23 turnovers.
Mahliya Wilson finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a block in 27 minutes of play for Dominican, while
Keyonee Neal added 14 points, six boards, three blocks and three steals. Riley Walls led the Otters (2-1) with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The Penguins never trailed as Wilson scored the first four points of the game including a layup through contact to go with a free throw as Dominican took a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes.
Ryan Nair came off the bench and drained a 3-pointer with 2:27 left in the first quarter to give Dominican its first double digit lead of the game at 20-10 as CSUMB was held without any consecutive baskets over the opening 10 minutes of action.
Neal opened the second quarter with one of her three blocks leading to a free throw for
Kaylyn Buchanon before Neal pulled up in the lane for a short jumper. Wilson drove into the paint and pulled up for a short jumper to end the 7-0 run that opened the quarter handing the Penguins a 31-14 lead at the midway point of the quarter. After layups by
Julianne Cotterill and Wilson pushed the lead to 19, the Otters had their first run scoring five unanswered as Riley Walls capped the run with a layup to cut the deficit to 35-21 with less than a minute until the intermission.
Wilson again sparked the Penguins out of the locker room as she scored the first four points of the third quarter to extend the lead back to 19 within the first two minutes. After CSUMB cut the lead to 15, Dominican had three consecutive steals that powered a 7-point swing that extended the lead to 47-25 with 2:46 remaining in the period. Dominican was able to bring in several players off the bench in the fourth quarter as the lead grew to as many as 23 on its way to victory.
The Penguins will host Pacific Union on Saturday in an exhibition at 6 p.m. in the Conlan Center.
