Hum-Nishikado scores 23 points in women's basketball's fifth straight win

ORANGE, Calif. – Two players scored 20-plus for the second game in a row and the Chapman University women's basketball team won its fifth straight in an 80-64 victory over visiting Pomona-Pitzer on Tuesday. Sophomore Jaime Hum-Nishikado led the Panthers with 23 points off the bench while senior Natalia Ebrahimian posted her second consecutive double-double.

The Panthers (7-5, 2-1 SCIAC) never trailed the Sagehens (3-8, 0-2 SCIAC) as the stayed on a hot streak. With 80 points in the win, Chapman has scored at least 80 points in four of the last five games and five of the last seven – all of which are wins.

Chapman scored the first six points of the game on a couple of buckets from junior Megan Charles, followed by Ebrahimian's first basket of the contest, and opened up a 10-3 over the first four minutes. Both teams shot 58 percent in the opening period but CU built a 24-18 lead.

Hum-Nishikado caught fire in the second quarter to help Chapman open up its lead. She shot 5-for-8 from the floor and drained three of her six three-pointers to score 13 points in the quarter. Chapman was up 45-34 at halftime but Pomona-Pitzer closed the gap in the third.

The Sagehens limited everyone on the floor for the Panthers except Ebrahimian. She scored all 12 of Chapman's points in the quarter and pulled down four of her 10 rebounds. She finished with 20 points and 10 boards for her third double-double of the season. Despite her efforts, Pomona-Pitzer whittled the lead down to single digits heading into the final quarter.

The lead was immediately cut to seven before a 7-0 run over the next two and a half minutes pushed the lead back into double digits where it stayed for the rest of the night.

Chapman shot 44.3 percent in the game while limiting Pomona-Pitzer to 36.8 percent. The Panthers also pulled down 51 boards, including 17 on the offensive end, compared to the Sagehens' 32.

Basha Brulee-Willis led the Sagehens with 23 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Charles scored 16 points for Chapman.

Chapman will have a week off before heading out for its first SCIAC road game at Occidental on Jan. 12.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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