SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's basketball erased most of a 15-point second-half deficit before Menlo pulled away late for an 83-70 victory Friday in the opening game of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge at the Conlan Center.
Jamia Sawyer scored a career-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals for the Penguins (1-1), while
Sydnee Norwood also established a career high with 17 points.
Ryan Nair added 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Sofia Addiego finished with 11 points. Makolla Toure B led the Oaks (1-0) with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Keytonna Ross Wilson added 16 points and six assists.
Sawyer opened the scoring with a jumper 26 seconds into the game before the teams traded the lead through the opening minutes. Menlo broke a 5-5 tie with four straight points, but Addiego knocked down a 3-pointer and Nair scored on consecutive drives as Dominican stayed within one at 13-12. Ross Wilson answered with a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 Oaks run that pushed the lead to nine before Sawyer scored twice in the final 90 seconds and
Aniyah Versosa beat the buzzer with a jumper to cut the deficit to 23-18 after one quarter.
Menlo opened the second with six straight points to take its first double-digit lead, but
Sadie Pierce and Nair answered with baskets before Sawyer connected on a jumper to bring Dominican back within five at 29-24 midway through the period. The Oaks responded with six consecutive points as Ross Wilson finished the run at the free-throw line to extend the advantage to 35-24. Nair and
Janiya Sawyer helped the Penguins trim the deficit back to seven, but Menlo scored four of the final six points to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.
The Oaks pushed the margin to a game-high 15 points twice in the third quarter, the second coming on a Taylor Westbrook layup that made it 49-34 with 6:04 remaining. Dominican began to cut into the deficit behind Sawyer, who scored eight points in the period, while Norwood converted four free throws over the final three minutes to bring the Penguins within 56-47 heading to the fourth.
Dominican carried that momentum into the final period as Sawyer scored inside before Addiego hit two free throws and Norwood converted a layup. Addiego then buried a 3-pointer off a Sawyer assist to complete a 9-2 run and cut the deficit to 58-56 with 7:59 remaining. Menlo answered immediately with a Nadia Brown 3-pointer, but Nair came up with a steal and found Norwood in transition to bring Dominican back within three. The Penguins remained within five after baskets from Norwood,
Janiya Sawyer and Nair, but the Oaks continued to answer each time Dominican threatened. Menlo eventually stretched the lead back to nine on a Brown transition layup with 2:51 remaining before Toure B knocked down a pair of late 3-pointers to secure the victory.
Dominican shot 47.1% from the field in the fourth quarter and scored 23 points in the period, but Menlo connected on 11 of 18 attempts over the final 10 minutes. The Oaks finished with a 47-33 advantage on the glass and totaled 22 assists on 32 made baskets. The Penguins forced 19 turnovers and recorded 12 steals.
Sawyer surpassed her previous career high of 15 points set in Monday's season opener against Stanislaus State, while Norwood more than doubled her previous high of eight points from the same game. Dominican also placed four players in double figures for the first time since its overtime victory over Biola on Feb. 12.
The Penguins return to the Conlan Center on Saturday to face Cal State Monterey Bay at 3 p.m. in the final game of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge.
