Panthers fall to Regals in SCIAC Semifinals

ORANGE, Calif. – The No. 2 seeded Chapman University women's basketball team fell to No. 3 Cal Lutheran 72-56 on Thursday night the Hutton Sports Center. The Panthers put up a strong fight against the Regals maintaining a lead through the first half.

After a slow start for both teams, Chapman posted a quick four points to take an early 4-0 lead. The Panthers then lifted their lead to 10-7 at the five minute mark with back-to-back jump shots in the paint by freshman Katelyn Serizawa. However a triple from senior Chelsea Jacoby put the Regals back in the game and gave Cal Lu the 12-11 lead with just two minutes to go. Chapman junior Lauren Sato hit a layup to give the Panthers back the 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Chapman opened up the second quarter with a 13-2 run to take the lead 26-14 at the 2:43 minute mark. The Regals battled back with four points from sophomore Tatiana Dunlap. The Panthers shot an impressive 42.3% compared to the Regals 18.8% in the first half to edge Cal Lu 28-18.

The Regals came out hot in the second half, cutting the Panthers lead down to four with a triple by junior Triana Owen at the five minute mark. The Regals then went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the second half 38-36 with just under a minute left in the third quarter. The Panthers ended the quarter trailing 40-38.

Junior Megan Charles scored six points from inside the paint followed by a pair of free throws by junior Natalia Ebrahimian to give the Panthers back the lead 48-47. However the Regals caught fire with back-to-back triples to lift Cal Lu's lead to 59-55 with just two minutes left. The Regals knocked down 13 of 18 free throws in the final two minutes and limited the Panthers to a single point to seal the win.  

Charles finished the game leading the Panthers with 16 points.  Ebrahimian ended her career with a double-double 13 points and 13 rebounds.

No. 3 Cal Lutheran will travel to No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scrips on Saturday, February 27 for the SCIAC Postseason Championship game set for 5 p.m.

by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant

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