Women earn date with No. 1 Whitman in NCAA Tourney

ORANGE, Calif. – Following the disappointment of Saturday night's loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament final, the Chapman University women's basketball team found new life on Monday morning. The Panthers were awarded a Pool 'C' (at-large) berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament and will travel to Walla Walla, Wash. to face No. 1-ranked Whitman College in the first round to be played on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Whitman will host the first and second rounds against familiar competition, including two teams from its own conference: No. 13 George Fox University (Ore.) and Northwest Conference tournament champs Whitworth University (Wash.) who gave Whitman its only loss of the season in the tournament final.

Chapman (21-6) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011 when the Panthers hosted the first round, but lost to Louisiana College. It's the Panthers' 11th Division III playoff berth in the past 15 years.

The Panthers have been led all season by senior G Kimi Takaoka, who is third all-time in school history in scoring (1,537 points) and averaging 21.5 points this season, ranked No. 18 in the nation. Sophomore C Sandra Gao has been the team's top rebounder, averaging 8.6 boards while scoring 14.9 points per contest and has a team-high nine double-doubles. Junior PG Andrea Villanueva has played her best basketball of the season during the second half, currently averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.

Meanwhile, Whitman (26-1) was ranked No. 1 in Division III by D3Hoops.com prior to losing in the conference title game, snapping the Missionaries' 26-game winning streak. Whitman shoots over 44 percent as a team and is led by junior G Heather Johns (19.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg). The Missionaries lost in the NCAA Tournament 'Elite 8' in 2013.

Chapman and Whitman last met in the 2000-01 season with the Panthers winning 50-39 at Hutton Center in Chapman's home opener. The Panthers own a 2-0 all-time record over the Missionaries. Chapman is most familiar with George Fox, especially in the postseason. The two locked horns earlier this season in Orange with the Bruins narrowly edging Chapman 65-62.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

NCAA Interactive Tournament bracket: http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/basketball-women/d3/2014

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