IRVINE, Calif. - In the first PacWest home game for CUI, the women's basketball team took on the Penguins from Dominican University.

Starting the contest against Dominican, the Golden Eagles were battling tough with physical play from both teams. As each team got into a rhythm, Guard Stephanie Lee also got into her rhythm by hitting a cash three-point shot to inch her closer to scoring 1,000 points in her career.

Closing out the first half, the Golden Eagles defense had made some key stops, and Hannah Vela added in her own 5-0 run to make the halftime score 34-31.

Coming back from the half, CUI needed to keep that momentum from the defense in order to stop the Penguins offense from getting open looks at the basket. The Golden Eagles defense turned into a flourish of offense with two made baskets from Stephanie Lee, including a three-point swish and a sweet reverse layup to officially put her in the 1,000-point club!

With Lee's 5-0 run by herself, the Golden Eagles took the lead 41-39 in the middle of the third quarter. Battling back and forth for the remainder of the game, CUI ultimately gave it their all till the end of the contest but fell short to Dominican University with a score of 72-63.

Key contributors for the Golden Eagles include Stephanie Lee, who scored a season and team-high 14 points while going 3-6 from deep and officially scoring over 1,000 career points; Izzy Navarro, who scored 13 points and grabbed three rebounds; Savannah Felix-Amoroso, who scored eight points while grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing out three assists and one blocked shot; and coming off the bench Hannah Vela who had a great productive game scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds, and assisting four other Golden Eagles.

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