SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball fell 69-62 Thursday night to University of Hawai'i at Hilo at the Conlan Recreation Center.
 
Keyonee Neal finished with 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks to lead the Penguins (10-3, 4-3 PacWest), while Janiya Sawyer added 12 points off the bench most in the fourth quarter as she tried to will her team back into the game and reach double figures for the sixth consecutive game. KeanuMarie Huihui led the Vulcans (5-6, 3-3 PacWest) with 23 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. The difference in the game came from the free throw line where UHH hit 82.6% of its shots while Dominican shot at a 63% clip missing 10 shots in a close game.
 
Brooke Samura got the Vulcans off to a strong start with five points to cap a 7-point run to take a 7-2 lead two minutes into the game. Mahliya Wilson converted a 3-point play before Neal knocked down a shot behind the arc to swing the lead back to the Penguins less than a minute later. The shooting went cold for Dominican and UHH took advantage as Kaile Cruz capped a 9-0 run with five points including a 3-pointer to take a 16-9 lead with 4:25 left in the quarter. After the Penguins cut back within four, Huihui connected for her first 3-pointer of the game to keep the Vulcans in front heading to the second quarter.
 
Neal scored Dominican's first four points of the second quarter to keep the game close, while Alyssa Alvarado knocked down a corner 3 to help trim the lead to 25-24 with 2:14 until the half. The Penguins remained on the attack as Neal hit a short jumper and Kaylyn Buchanon hit a pair from the free-throw line to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.
 
UHH once again started strong out of the locker room as Huihui connected from behind the arc to take a 36-30 lead with 7:39 on the third quarter clock. Wilson scored four unanswered to get back within two, but Huihui again hit a clutch 3-pointer to halt the momentum. The Vulcans were able to slowly add to its lead on short runs with a Huihui layup pushing the lead to eight with 2:14 remaining in the quarter.
 
The lead grew to a game-high 10 after Huihui hit a short jumper with 6:05 remaining in the game as Dominican searched for a way back into the game. Sawyer provided the opportunity as she scored six straight to go with a steal and a block to cut the deficit to 60-56 with 2:59 remaining. After another turnover looked to hand Dominican a chance to cut back within a single possession, Sawyer's layup attempt hung on the rim for a second before falling out and Samura hit a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead back to seven. Dominican clawed its way back to within four once more with 39 second remaining as Sawyer cut into the lane and laid it off the glass. The Penguins went for a tie up on the ensuing inbounds but a foul was called first and the Vulcans sealed the victory from the charity stripe.
 
Dominican will wrap up its homestand Saturday as it takes on Hawai'i Pacific at noon PST at the Conlan Recreation Center.