Sato and Charles led the Panthers to fourth consecutive win

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University women's basketball senior Lauren Sato and junior Megan Charles led the Panthers with 12 points each to help the Panthers to a 60-53 victory over Occidental College at the Hutton Sports Center on Saturday night.

The Panthers opened up with an early 8-0 in the first three minutes of the game. Occidental then cut the Panthers lead in half going on an 8-3 run, but a jumper by freshman Katelyn Serizawa led the Panthers back on 13-2 run. The Panthers ended the first quarter leading 20-12.

The Panthers continued to extend their lead through the second period with a triple by sophomore Jaime Hum-Nishikado to lift Chapman's lead to 17.

However, Occidental battled back through the second quarter and into the third with a 17-4 run to tighten the score 34-32. Junior Erin Matsumoto led the Tigers with a pair of triples and a jumper over a 12 minute span. Occidental then went on to take the lead 42-41 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Trailing with under two minute left in the third quarter, junior Megan Charles drove to the basket making a layup, followed by a free throw to give the Panthers the go ahead. The Panthers then scored on a pair of jumpers to take the lead back 48-44 at the end of the third quarter.

After five scoreless minutes in the fourth, Hum-Nishikado scored from beyond the arc to spark a 9-0 run for Chapman, who finished the game 60-53.

The Panthers forced scored an impressive 23 points off the bench including three triples from Hum-Nishikado.

Chapman hosts University of La Verne at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4 before taking its next two-games to the road.

by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant

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