The Dominican University women’s basketball team dropped three games on their California road trip last week, falling to Occidental College, Whittier College and California Lutheran University. The three losses pushed the Stars winless streak to nine games as the Stars stand at 1-10 on the season heading into Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) play after the New Year.
The Stars began the west coast swing with a 53-51 loss to Occidental College. The Stars opened up a 29-20 lead at the end of the first half, getting eight points in seven minutes from Melissa Fleming off the bench. The Stars opened up an 11-point lead early in the second half, but surrendered the lead for good with just over three minutes to play as Occidental went on a 5-0 run to take a four-point lead with two minutes to play.
Fleming led Dominican University with 16 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field including three three-point field goals. Freshman Justine Christian scored 10 points as the only other Stars player to reach double-figures.
The Stars then fell to Whittier College 61-53 on Monday, December 20. Melissa Lounds paced the Stars offense with 14 points while Christian and Katie Strickland chipped in 12 points apiece. Christian added 12 rebounds for a double-double in the losing effort.
The Stars dropped the final game of the trip to California Lutheran 94-59, after falling behind by 28 in the game’s first 20 minutes.
The Stars’ Jamie Baird led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Strickland added 19 points while Lounds scored 10 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Stars return to action on Jan. 4, as they open NIIC play at Concordia University at 7:00 p.m.
