ORANGE – Senior Julia Strand put up her fifth double-double in just six games played this season with 17 points and 17 rebounds, and the Chapman University women’s basketball team defeated visiting Whittier 56-49 on Monday. The defense shut down the Poets in the middle quarters and the Panthers held on in the fourth for the win.
Senior Brittany McPherson contributed 13 points and eight rebounds while freshman Zoe Zurasky pitched in an electrifying six points off the bench.
Katie Kubo had six assists to go along with seven points, while Sammie Inana had a solid offensive game with six points, four assists, two rebounds and three steals.
The Panthers fell behind early, allowing the Poets to score the first nine points of the game and finding themselves in a 17-9 hole after the first quarter. The defense sparked a quick comeback in the second quarter as the Poets were held to 1-of-14 shooting and managed to put just four points on the scoreboard.
In the first two minutes of the quarter, the Panthers pulled within one. Zurasky then drove to the rim for back-to-back layups to put Chapman in front 20-17. Strand added a layup and finished off a 13-0 run for the Panthers over the first five-plus minutes of the quarter.
Whittier responded with four points in a 45-second segment of the quarter but went silent again over the final three and a half minutes. McPherson knocked down a mid-range jumper, Strand converted a three-point play and Zurasky added her third layup to make it 29-21 at halftime.
The Poets didn’t find an answer in the third quarter as they managed to add just seven points on the scoreboard and went cold over the final 3:51. Chapman ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to push the lead to 17 points.
The lead grew to 19 points with eight minutes to play in the fourth before Whittier began to chip away at the lead. As the fourth quarter passed the midway point, Whittier went on a 12-0 run to turn an 18-point deficit into just six points with 1:42 to play. Chapman went nearly five minutes without a point before McPherson put the game out of reach with a couple of free throws with 33 seconds left to make it 54-36.
A three-pointer just before the buzzer scored Whittier’s final points but not before Kubo knocked down her free throws to push the lead back to double digits.
Chapman continued its homestand on Wednesday against Occidental, after The Rafu went to press.
— Courtesy Chapman Sports Information
Masuno’s 17 Leads CMS to Rout of Lincoln
CLAREMONT – Austyn Masuno had 17 points and 12 rebounds in only 20 minutes and Ava Grey added 12 points off the bench on four three-pointers as the women of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps controlled the game throughout and took a 76-54 win over Lincoln University (Oakland) on Monday.
With the win, CMS now stands at 7-9 on the season, as well as 4-3 in the SCIAC, as it will try to take its recent momentum into a match-up with league-leading Redlands on Saturday.
CMS broke the game open in the first quarter to take a 23-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Flora Durgerian hit a three-pointer to break a 6-6 tie with 6:24 left in the first, and Grey followed with one to make it 12-6.
CMS closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run, and then scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to make it an 18-0 run over the two stanzas for a commanding 33-10 lead.
Kayla Ishibashi nailed another three-pointer in the second quarter and followed with a jumper, Jocelyn Song hit a jumper, and Mary Markaryan made two foul shots to cap off the run and leave CMS ahead 33-10. The Athenas took a 42-19 lead into halftime, and weren’t threatened in the second half.
Ishibashi finished with seven points and a pair of assists for CMS, who will face Redlands on Saturday, as they try to solidify their position in the top four of the conference standings.
– Courtesy CMS Athletics
Kiyomura Nets 4 in Oxy Win
Clarissa Kiyomura had four points with two assists as Occidental topped visiting Cal Lutheran, 61-51, on Monday.
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers stretched the lead to 13 points over the Regals, earning their second straight victory and moving themselves into seventh place in the SCIAC.
Mackenzy Iwahashi scored two points with as many assists for Cal Lutheran, while teammate Taylor Oshiro came off the bench for four minutes of play.