Panther women advance to SCIAC final with win over Cal Lu

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University women's basketball team held of a second-half surge from Cal Lutheran University, to defeat the visiting Regals 72-68 and advance to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship game for the second year in a row.

The tournament's top-seeded Chapman (21-5) will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday night. The two teams shared the regular season SCIAC title.

The Panthers were led by junior G Andrea Villanueva and sophomore F Sandra Gao, who each recorded a double-double. Villanueva finished the game with 17 points and 10 assists, while Gao scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

After not scoring a point in the first 3 minutes, the Panthers scored 13 unanswered points to take a 13-6 lead with 13:39 left in the half. The Regals brought the score back to within three points, however Chapman responded with a 14-3 run to stretch the lead to 28-14 with 5:46 remaining in the period. The Panthers would go into the break with a 37-24 lead, holding Cal Lutheran to just 8-for-35 (22.9 percent) shooting.

The Regals would not go away in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 44-35 in the period. Cal Lutheran relied on three-point shooting to get them back in to the game, sinking 5 of 7 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Regals pulled to within three points of the Panthers when freshman G Jessica Salottolo nailed a jump shot with 11 seconds left on the clock, but a clutch free throw from Villanueva would give Chapman the victory by a final score of 72-68.

Chapman will host Claremont in the SCIAC tournament championship game Saturday at the Hutton Center at 5 p.m. The Panthers swept the season series against the Athenas by winning both games including a 73-69 victory at home on Jan. 30.

by Michael Schwartz
Sports Information Intern

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140227_l6uf.xml

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