Women's basketball leaves Hawaii with split

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Chapman University women's basketball team split a pair of games at the Hoop N Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii this week, defeating West Region opponent Pacific University (Ore.) 56-42 on Wednesday afternoon before falling to NAIA's No. 5-ranked Georgetown College 57-56 on Friday.

Game 1: Chapman 56, Pacific 42

The Panthers' defense held its opponents to a season-low 42 points, including just 18 in the second half to get the trip started on the right foot. Senior G Kimi Takaoka scored a game-high 22 points, while sophomore F Sandra Gao earned her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Chapman took just 21 second-half shots, but made over 52 percent of them to earn its third straight win.

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20131218_tdzg.xml

Game 2: Georgetown 57, Chapman 56

Chapman led nearly all of the final 15 minutes of the game, taking its largest lead at 49-42 just inside the 10-minute mark against nationally-ranked Georgetown. However, the Tigers came clawing back and took a one-point lead with 48 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws. A free throw from Takaoka evened the score, but Georgetown scored the game-winner on a free throw with just 4 seconds left to beat the Panthers.

No team led by more than seven points in the game which featured 12 lead changes, including eight in the first half. Takaoka led all scorers with a season-best 32 points, including three three-pointers. Gao added 16 points, three assists and three steals. The Panthers were out-rebounded 41-20 in the game.

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20131220_oq09.xml

After the Christmas holiday, Chapman will travel to Redlands to face Ripon (Wis.) and Beloit (Wis.) in the Redlands Winter Classic on Dec. 27 and 28. The Panthers next home game will be against Messiah (Pa.) on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. All games are non-conference.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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