Last-minute rally gives Panther women win over Oxy

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team out-scored visiting Occidental College 9-0 in the final 56 seconds to turn a four-point deficit into a 66-61 win in a SCIAC matchup at the Hutton Sports Center on Saturday night. The Panthers rally kept them in a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings as each of the conference's top teams won on Saturday night.

Trailing by two points with just 23 seconds remaining, senior G Kimi Takaoka drained her third three-pointer of the second half to give Chapman (12-4 overall, 6-1 SCIAC) the lead for good. It was the Panthers' first lead since the 16:19 mark in the half as they were force to play catch-up most of the period. Takaoka added a pair of free throws seven seconds later to finish with a game-high 28 points.

Chapman capitalized on three Oxy turnovers in the final 76 seconds to aid the turnaround. Neither team ever led by more than six points in a back-and-forth affair. In fact, the Panthers' winning margin of five was its largest lead all game.

It was a relatively poor shooting night for Chapman, which had been averaging over 43 percent from the floor this season. The Panthers shot just 36.9 percent from the field on Saturday, including 35.5 percent (11 of 31) in the first half, but went into the intermission trailing by just three, 31-28.

Takaoka scored 17 of her 28 points in the second half to help Chapman keep it close until rallying at the end. Sophomore C Sandra Gao added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Panthers, her seventh double-double of the season and third in her last five games. Senior PG Andrea Villanueva equaled her season-high with seven assists.

Occidental (9-7 overall, 3-5 SCIAC) was led by F Elizabeth Messick, who also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The first-place Panthers wrap up the first half of the SCIAC schedule on the road at Cal Lutheran on Thursday and return home on Jan. 30 when they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7:30 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140118_tdgs.xml

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