Women’s basketball: Dominican clinches title shot with victory over defending champion Azusa Pacific

Dominican University ended a frustrating stretch against Azusa Pacific to upset the three-time defending PacWest women’s basketball champions and secure a berth in Saturday’s championships.

Alex Salise spurred the Penguins on in the second half against a determined Cougars squad, but Azusa Pacific made it just a one-shot game in the final 20 seconds before Dominican clinched the 62-56 victory at the free throw line.

Taylor Linzie led the charge for the Penguins (22-11), whose last win against Azusa Pacific came Dac. 19, 2022. Linzie posted her second double-double of the tournament with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Salise added 12 points coming off the bench, to go with four assists, three rebounds and a steal.

“We’ve been here [the semifinals] the last three years so it wasn’t anything new,” Salise said. “We have the same goal to get the championship and we are one step closer. I’m really excited to play with this team, we just have a big heart.”

The Penguins will face top-seeded Point Loma (23-5), which clinched a title shot with Friday’s 57-39 victory over Westmont (17-10). Branson School grad Hannah Golan had eight points and four rebounds for the Sea Lions.

“Our focus coming out was we can’t dig a hole,” Dominican head coach Tim LaKose said. “Azusa Pacific is too good to go down against. We learned the lesson from earlier in the season. Credit to this team as they have played some of the best teams in the country and they are showing that they are one of the best in this region.”

Amayah Kirkman and Kelly Heimburger scored 18 points each  and combined for 17 rebounds for the Cougars.

Dominican’s hallmark defense muzzled the Cougars in the first quarter, while the Penguins grabbed an eight-point lead with 3-point plays from Mikayla Amoroso and Linzie and big plays from Kaylyn Buchanan-Lamb, who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and a game-high three steals.

Azusa Pacific turned the tables in the second quarter with a 12-2 run to tie up the game 22-22 heading into the break.

The Penguins started the second half hot as Salise and Linzie each hit a 3-pointer early on as Dominican took a 29-22 lead. Salise continued to power the offense as Dominican stretched its lead to 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Senior Alaiyah San Juan was solid down the stretch, shooting 10 for 12 from the free throw line to help the Penguins seal the win. San Juan finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Point Loma advances past Westmont

Point Loma continues to have Westmont’s number, as the Sea Lions beat the Warriors for the third time in the past month. After a neck-and neck race out of the gate, Point Loma stepped up the pressure against Westmont.

“We know their stuff and they know our stuff,” Golan said. “Westmont is a great rebounding team, so we had to keep them off the boards.”

The Warriors, coached by Redwood High legend Kirsten Moore, outrebounded the Sea Lions 31-23. Bailey Fong led Westmont with 21 points, and Lisa Kiefer added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Point Loma, which led by just three points at halftime, extended its lead in the second half with big efforts from Alli McDonald and Jocelyn Pascaul, who scored 10 points each.

“It’s fun playing in front of family and friends back in Marin,” Golan said.