SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican battled back after a rough first half to defeat Menlo 58-53 Monday evening at the Conlan Center in a defensive slugfest.
Mahliya Wilson led all players with 23 points to go with six rebounds and three steals for the Penguins (15-3, 9-3 PacWest).
Isobel Crosswhite added 12 points and
Aryn Bright finished with 10 points both off the bench. Kimberly Ceron-Romero led the Oaks (8-11, 6-8 PacWest) with 15 points and four blocks, while Alberte Frisch chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds. Dominican was able to offset its poor shooting from the field and the free-throw line with a 19-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
The first five minutes of the game were a chaotic defensive battle that saw more steals than made shots for either side. Wilson was the first player on either team to score consecutive buckets on consecutive possession with a jumper and a layup in the span of thirty seconds that gave Dominican a 5-2 lead. Laila Saenz and Nadia Brown helped Menlo retake a small lead with a pair of shots in the paint, but Wilson leaked out in transition and
Kaylyn Buchanon found her for a layup to retake the 9-8 lead heading to the final minute of play. Alberte Frisch knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner and Kimberly Ceron-Romo laid it in before the buzzer to give the Oaks a 13-11 lead after one quarter.
Sofia Addiego hit the first 3-pointer for the Penguins seconds into the second quarter to retake a lead. The teams continued to trade defensive stops and made baskets deep into the second quarter before
Isobel Crosswhite knocked down a short jumper and
Alyssa Alvarado followed up with a steal and a score to give Dominican a 20-17 lead with four minutes remaining. Jayonnah Carter scored the next four points for Menlo and Laila Saenz stole the inbounds and laid it in to take a 23-20 lead with 1:40 remaining in the half. Saenz then finished through contact to convert a 3-point play to double the lead and the Oaks began to build a little breathing room taking an 8-point lead into the break.
Dominican strung together some possessions early in the second half behind the play of Wilson and the defense as a steal by Crosswhite and layup by Bright cut the deficit to 31-29 with 6:41 left in the third. Wilson then stole the ball on the ensuing possession and took it the other way to tie the game and force a Menlo timeout. Buchanon stole the ball and saved it in to Bright who dished it to Wilson to push the run to 11-0 and give the Penguins a 33-31 lead, its first in seven minutes of game time. Frisch knocked down another 3-pointer to give Menlo back a 37-35 lead heading into the final four minutes of the quarter.
Wilson and Crosswhite each attacked the paint to tie the game 44-44 within the first minute of the fourth, but Menlo answered with four unanswered points of their own to retake its advantage. The game remained close as the defenses remained the story of the game with Menlo leading 52-51 at the final media timeout of the game. Bright finished with her left hand to give Dominican back the lead briefly. Wilson finished in traffic to keep the Penguins ahead and then leaked out in transition to make it a two-possession game heading into the final minute of play leading 57-53. Wilson fittingly rebounded the ball after another defensive stop with 0.5 seconds left in the game to seal the victory.
Dominican enters a tough stretch of its schedule as it heads South to take on Vanguard on Thursday at 4 p.m. PST in the first game of a two-game trip at the Freed Center for Leadership in Costa Mesa.
