ORANGE, Calif. – Head coach Carol Jue picked up her 300th career win and the Chapman University women's basketball team won for the 12th game in a row with a 65-61 victory over visiting Cal Lutheran. Sophomore Lucy Criswell posted her third double-double of the season to lead the Panthers (18-3, 12-0 SCIAC) in the win.
Chapman turned up the pressure on the defensive end to overcome a slow shooting night. The Panthers forced 22 turnovers from Cal Lutheran and turned the extra opportunities into 24 points. The Regals (12-9, 7-5 SCIAC) stayed in the game with a 47-34 edge on the glass, including 19 offensive rebounds. Those offensive boards turned into 18 second chance points.
Criswell scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Panthers but junior Jaryn Fajardo filled up the stat sheet as well with 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore Marissa Dunn scored eight points off the bench to lead the reserves.
Coach Jue's 300th win provided plenty of drama with 14 different lead change and 13 ties. Chapman never led by more than six points and Cal Lu never led by more than five. However, the Panthers were able to make the last run and sink several crucial free throws down the stretch to get Jue the milestone victory and keep the winning streak alive.
The Regals took an 11-9 lead after the first quarter on the strength of a couple of big three-pointers. However, they hit just two shots in the second quarter with seven free throws while the Panthers found a bit of a rhythm offensive to take a 26-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The seesaw tilted again in the third with Cal Lutheran leading 44-43 heading into the fourth quarter. After trading the first two buckets of the quarter, senior Irma Munoz slipped to the rim and Fajardo found her with a quick pass for an easy layup to take a 47-46 lead.
Cal Lutheran responded with one of its three threes in the quarter as Rylie Wada put the Regals back on top. Fajardo pulled up in the lane to sink the game-tying bucket just seconds later. After Kayla Watterson gave Cal Lu a two-point lead, both teams came up empty on the ensuing trips down the floor. However, sophomore Paige Endo grabbed a long rebounder and found senior Jaime Hum-Nishikado sprinting down the floor for a fast break. Hum-Nishikado banked in a the breakaway layup despite being fouled on the way up and sunk the free throw to complete the three-point play for the 52-51 lead.
Less than a minute later, Dunn repeated Hum-Nishikado with a three-point play. She absorbed contact while banking in a short runner and knocked down the free throw to put the Panthers up 55-51. The run continued as Fajardo knocked down another shot to extend it to an 8-0 run and a 57-51 lead.
Cal Lutheran was able to sink a couple of long threes and Watterson slipped a screen for an easy layup to keep the Reglas close but Chapman hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch, including five from Fajardo, to come away with the win. Fajardo scored nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Watterson led Cal Lutheran with 14 points and 18 rebounds.
The win also clinched home-court advantage in the semifinals of the SCIAC Tournament for the Panthers, who remained perfect in conference play and lead Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the standings by a game.
The Panthers head to Whittier on Wednesday and return home to take on La Verne at 4 p.m. on Saturday in another basketball doubleheader.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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