Taylor Linzie made a dramatic postseason debut with one of her best outings of her senior campaign at Dominican University to help the host Penguins clinch a berth in the PacWest semifinals.

The third-seeded Penguins (21-11) survived a second-half rally from No. 6 Biola for a 54-44 win. Dominican will face second seed Azusa Pacific in Friday’s semifinals at 12:30 p.m. — a rematch of last year’s semifinals.

No. 4 Westmont (18-10), coached by Redwood High’s career leading scorer Kirsten Moore, will face Branson School grad Hannah Golan and top-seeded Point Loma in Friday’s other women’s semifinal. The Warriors were 70-54 winners of Thursday’s other contest against No. 5 Fresno Pacific.

“It’s very exciting to be here, playing in my first PacWest championships,” said Linzie, who matched her season high with 15 points and also grabbed 19 rebounds to go with four steals and a block during a dominating defensive effort.

“I’m thrilled that we’re able to play here at Dominican. I think the team was fired up,” Dominican head coach Tim LaKose said. “I appreciate the hard work that (Linzie) and (Alaiyah San Juan) and our team have put in.”

San Juan was held in check until late in the second quarter with a jump shot that gave the Penguins a 28-15 lead. San Juan found a way to help her teammates as she finished with six points, five steals, three blocks and three assists.

“I think with this team, we have a different mentality compared to last year,” said San Juan. “We’re coming in here and nobody’s going to stop us.”

The Penguins lost to Azusa Pacific, 76-65, in the semifinals in 2024, as the Cougars went on to win their third consecutive championship. Dominican’s last victory over Azusa Pacific was a 87-79 victory on Dec. 19, 2022, in San Rafael.

“We’re ready for everything that is thrown at us,” San Juan said. “I’m glad we get to do this again on our home court.”

The Penguins, making their fourth postseason appearance in four years, last hosted the PacWest tournament in 2019, when they lost to Hawaii Pacific in the semifinals after a first-round bye.

“Last time we hosted, it was an electric atmosphere, similar to tonight, and I think we were too excited last time,” LaKose said. “So we made sure to channel that energy, especially into our defense. I think we channeled it well and learned from previous experience.”

The Penguins held the normally hot-shooting Eagles to just three 3-pointers on 17 shots the entire game. Biola had few answers for Dominican’s defense in the opening minutes, shooting just 15 percent in the first quarter while the Penguins went on an eight-point run to seize a 13-4 lead.

“Tay (Linzie) has been absolutely incredible for us,” LaKose said. “She has excelled at both ends of the floor. I think she is the best defensive player in the conference, and she’s proven that night in and night out.”

Dominican had the depth to overcome a 19-point night from Biola’s Sammie Henley. Kaylyn Buchanon and Abigail Cooper added nine points each for the Penguins.

Alyssa Alvarado hit a 3-pointer as the Penguins opened the second quarter on a five-point run, before Henley hit a 3-pointer of her own to spark a seven-point run by the Eagles to cut the gap in half.

Cooper sank a floater with 4:52 left in the second quarter as the Penguins went on a six-point run to shore up their advantage and led 29-17 at the break.

Biola went on another run to open the third quarter, chopping the Penguins’ lead to just four points with a 3-pointer from Kaylen Kamelamela with 7:26 left in the third quarter.

Andraya Perez knocked down a 3-pointer to push Dominican’s lead back to double figures, and the Penguins went on a 10-0 run to close out the third with a 47-31 lead.

“They’re a very capable team,” LaKose said. “I’m just glad we responded to that run. We gave ourselves a good lead going into halftime, and then we had to answer that run in the third quarter.”

The Eagles manufactured another run in the fourth quarter, with seven points in 4 minutes, but Dominican was too powerful to overcome.

Linzie tied her season-high with a free throw in the closing minutes. San Juan then was fouled as she hit a circus shot and dropped in the ensuing free throw for a 12-point Dominican lead.

“For Alaiyah, this has been a four-year journey playing here,” LaKose said. “She’s worked really hard, as her teammates have, to get us to this point.”