Trailing 6-2 in the opening minutes, the Dominican University women's basketball team went on a 15-0 run to open a 17-6 lead they would never relinquish in a 76-69 win at Rockford University on Saturday afternoon.
 
Dominican continued to build upon its lead throughout the first half, leading by as many as 17 in the second period and taking a 37-24 lead into halftime.
 
In the third period, Rockford outscored the Stars 26-17 in the frame, including a last-second layup by Casey Pettit to trim the Stars' lead to 54-50 heading into the final quarter.
 
In the fourth, Danielle McGruder (Plano, Texas) and Claudia DeNigris (Addison, Ill.) scored seven points apiece and the Stars went 7-for-12 at the free throw line to hang on for the win.
 
"What a great team win to start conference play," said Dominican's head coach Gabby Johnson following the game.  "We had contributions from everyone.  While we had a rough third quarter, the team dug in and trusted our stuff."
 
"Now it is time to move on to another conference game on Wednesday."
 
McGruder came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Stars.  Allie Tapanes (Winfield, Ill.) added 15 points, including knocking down four free throws in the fourth quarter, and dished out a season-high nine assists while Shamia Clark (Rock Island, Ill.) added ten points for the Stars.
 
Dominican will be back in action on Wednesday, hitting the road for Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to take on the Marian University Sabres.  Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.