CARSON, Calif. – The Sonoma State women's basketball kept their postseason hope alive with a big 73-65 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday afternoon.  The win moved the Seawolves to 9-10 in CCAA play and just one game out of 5^th place in the conference standings. 
 
SSU found themselves down early as the Toros opened on a 9-0 run.  The Seawolves bench pulled them back into the game with back-to-back baskets by Jennifer Moreno and Laura Smith.  Sheriene Arikat followed with a 3-pointer before Keara Colombo tied the game at 9-9.  Alli McDonald then sank a triple to cap off a 12-0 run and give the Seawolves their first lead.  Ixchel Rojo scored the next basket and Jayme Blackard closed out the first with four straight points to send the game to the second at 18-15.
 
Sonoma State kept the momentum going in the second, building a double-digit lead on the heels of a pair of 3-pointers from Sienna Cherwinski.  The freshman scored seven points during a 17-2 run with Trena Rathjen scoring the last five as the lead swelled to as many as 18.  McDonald's last second jumper made it 39-21 at the break. 
 
CSUDH opened the second half with six straight points and began chipping away at the deficit.  The Seawolves did a good job keeping the lead in double digits into the final minutes of the third.  After the Toros pulled within nine, Moreno closed the quarter with a pair of free-throws to give Sonoma State an 11-point lead going into the fourth. 
 
Rathjen hit a big 3-pointer early in the fourth and Blackard added a layup at the 6-minute mark to keep the Seawolves ahead by 10.  The Toros made one final push, ripping off a 12-4 to pull within two in the final minute.  Blackard then came up with the biggest play of the game, driving hard as the shot clock wound down and converting a tough layup plus the foul with one tick left.  That score made it a 5-point game with under 50 seconds remaining and McDonald iced the game from the line with three free-throws. 
 
The Seawolves shot over 50% from the field in the contest, making 24 of 47 shots from the field.  They also hit 8 of 20 from long distance and 17 of 21 from the free-throw line.  Cherwinski made 4 of 5 from 3-point range to lead the team with 15 points.  McDonald added her second double-double of the week with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Blackard added 12 of her own.  Blackard scored six of her points in the fourth quarter and Rathjen added 11 big points off the bench. 
 
The Seawolves are on the road again next week to take on San Francisco State on Thursday night and Cal State East Bay on Saturday.  Both games will be available on the CCAA Network with live stats link at www.sonomaseawolves.com.