I believe it is of a comparable size to the Penn International 16 class reels. Which is to say it's a still a pretty large reel. Were I going to spend that kind of dough, I would get an Avet MX two speed (like here the 6/4 version:
http://www.meltontackle.com/products/avet-mx-reels.html). It's a smaller and lighter reel that fits in the palm of your hand with plenty of drag capacity for any rockfish you'll catch. Load it up with 50 lb braid and she'll be good to go. FWIW, my guess is part of her problem may be fighting larger rods/reels as much as the fish. If so, two speeds may not be necessary, in which case the less expensive regular MX reel would be fine.