College basketball: Dominican women looking to claim title on home court
The Penguins are set to renew their quest for their first PacWest women’s basketball title — this time on their home court at Dominican University.
Dominican will host the PacWest men’s and women’s championships, March 6-8, featuring the top six teams in the conference.
“We are excited to be playing at home,” Dominican women’s head coach Tim LaKose said, “and we hope Marin County will come out to support their only NCAA team.”
The third-seeded Penguins (20-11) will host No. 6 Biola (7-21) in the tournament opener on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Fourth-seeded Westmont (17-10) will face No. 5 Fresno Pacific (14-13) in the other first-round women’s game on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. Regular-season champion and top seed Point Loma and No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific received first-round byes.
In the men’s openers on Thursday, No. 3 Academy of Art (17-11) faces No. 6 Westmont (13-15) at 5 p.m., then No. 4 Hawaii Hilo (18-12) tips off against No. 5 Concordia (16-11). No. 1 Point Loma and No. 2 Biola received first-round byes.
The Dominican men’s team (9-19, 4-16) is in last place in the 14-team PacWest standings.
The championships are set for Saturday, with the women’s game at 2 p.m. and the men at 4:30 p.m.
Senior guard Alaiyah San Juan leads the Penguins offense, averaging a career-best 13.3 points per game, with Abby Cooper adding 11.6 ppg. San Juan matched her career high this season, with 29 points against Chico State on Nov. 9.
Taylor Linzie is bringing down a team-best 11.3 rebounds and scoring nine points per game. Linzie’s 25 rebounds during a 61-57 win over Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 13 tied Sandra Ikeora for the single-game record in Dominican’s NCAA Division II history.
A former Female Athlete of the Year at College of Marin, junior Isobel Crosswhite, adds 2.7 ppg off the bench for the Penguins.
“Our defense, led by Taylor (Linzie’s) rebounding, has been strong this season,” LaKose said. “We also have very capable scorers. We will need our defense, and our scorers to peak at the right time to win our first ever PacWest Championship.”
Defending three-time women’s champion Azusa Pacific (22-5) enters the postseason looking to extend its title streak.
Point Loma (23-5) clinched the regular-season title with Thursday’s 90-67 win over Menlo. Branson School grad Hannah Golan grabbed six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes for the Sea Lions.
“I think every team in the championships is a good defensive team,” LaKose said. “And while many say defense wins championships, I think whichever team can get hot offensively, will likely win the championship.”
The tournament will be a homecoming for some. Golan helped power the Branson School to a 46-23 victory over Imperial in the 2022 CIF State Division IV championship in her junior season. Golan this season is averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds coming off the bench for the Sea Lions.
Head coach Kirsten McKnight Moore brings her Westmont squad back to the area where she carved out a legacy with the Redwood High girls basketball team from 1991-94. The four-time all-league selection from 1991-94 remains Redwood’s all-time scorer, passing Caren Choppelas Horstmeyer.