Women's Basketball

Diaz Scores 27 In Dominican's First-Ever Win Over California Baptist

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – No. 6 Dominican opened the 2018 PacWest Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 79-72 upset of No. 3 California Baptist a week after California Baptist spoiled the Penguins’ home finale.

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The Penguins were led by PacWest Co-Player of the Year Natalie Diaz with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Sandra Ikeora also had a double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds to help Dominican snap a three-game skid.
 
The win was Dominican’s first-ever triumph against California Baptist and ended the Lancers’ nine-game winning streak. The Penguins improved to 18-11 on the season as they set up a semifinal meeting with No. 2 Hawai`i Pacific on Friday.
 
California Baptist led by as much as six points in the second half, but Vanessa Cruz knocked down a pair of treys early in the third quarter to help the Penguins eliminate the deficit. Cruz finished the game 4 for 5 from beyond the arc for 19 points. That was one point shy of her season high, which was set the last time Dominican played at California Baptist.
 
The Lancers retook the lead early in the fourth quarter when Georgia Dale drained a 3-pointer for a 59-57 lead. Cruz answered with her fourth 3-pointer of the game and then Diaz made two lay-ups for a 7-0 run.
 
Dominican never trailed for the rest of the game, but the Lancers’ twice tied the game on a 3-point play by Dale and a Tori Mitchell lay-up. Anjelica Collins hit her second 3-pointer of the game for the Penguins with four minutes left in the game to secure the lead for good.
 
The Dominican defense forced California Baptist into 17 turnovers with Collins and Ikeora each tallying three steals. Ikeora also had four blocks in the win.
 
Mitchell led the Lancer offense with 17 points, adding 11 defensive rebounds and two assists. Ane Olaeta added 15 points, while Dale finished the final game of her freshman year with 14 points, three assists and a steal.
 
Dominican will play against No. 2 Hawai`i Pacific at 12:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams met once during the regular season with the Sharks holding off Dominican with a 76-73 win during their 19-game winning streak.