Women's basketball gets key victory in defensive battle

ORANGE, Calif. – A defensive struggle throughout, the Chapman University women's basketball came away with a key 45-38 win over Redlands on Saturday. Both teams turned up the heat defensively but the Panthers (17-6, 12-2 SCIAC) used a late run to capture the much-needed victory.

The defenses made it tough to find a basket all evening. The Panthers shot just 32.7 percent from the floor but a stingy defense held Redlands (8-13, 5-7 SCIAC) to 23.2 percent shooting. Neither team hit a three-point, combining to go 0-for-9 from long range.

Junior Megan Charles led the Panthers with nine points on the night. Senior Natalia Ebrahimian was held scoreless through three quarters but turned in a clutch final quarter, scoring all eight of her points as the Panthers pulled away in the final period.

Freshman Katelyn Serizawa had another impressive all-around game with eight points to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.

The game was tightly contested throughout with scoring coming at a premium. CU led by a point after the first but Redlands took a 20-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. The lead changed hands nine times over the course of the game and the Panthers seized control in the third with a 29-28 edge over the visitors.

In the fourth, Chapman finally built a multiple-possession lead and outscored the Bulldogs 16-10 in the period behind Ebrahimian's eight points. After going down 30-29 to start the fourth, Ebrahimian scored the next four points for the Panthers to spark an 8-1 run that put the Panthers up six.

Angela Silver led the Bulldogs with 14 points off the bench but the visitors could not close the late gap.

With the win, Chapman pulls a half game ahead of Cal Lutheran for second place in the SCIAC. Cal Lu hosts first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tonight at 7 p.m.

Chapman celebrated its three seniors: Ebrahimian, Kristen Gilman and Lauren Taketomo prior to the game. They will play their last two games of the regular season on the road, starting with a crucial matchup at Cal Lutheran on Tuesday.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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