Biola runs away in the second half to beat Panthers

ORANGE, Calif. - A big second half by the visiting team sent the Chapman University women's basketball team to its first home loss in nearly two months as Biola University defeated the Panthers 74-47 at the Hutton Center on Thursday night. The Eagles out-scored Chapman by 20 points over the final 20 minutes as the Panthers lost for just the fourth time in their past 13 games.

The Panthers' four-game home winning streak was snapped as they suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season.

Biola (14-9) opened up what had been a seven-point lead at halftime with an offensive outburst early in the second half. The Eagles went on a 24-7 run over a span of 7 and a half minutes early in the period to extend their lead to 62-36. Biola F Richae Kater scored 12 of her 17 points in the half to pace the Eagles. Biola's largest lead came with under three minutes remaining going up by 31 points before winning handily.

Chapman (11-11) kept it close in the first half despite never gaining a lead. The Panthers trailed by double-digits for much of the first half but cut Biola's lead to just four on a three-pointer by junior G Kelli Yamamoto with 4:41 to go. However, Chapman would not score another point in the half, shooting 0-for-7 from the field  over the final 4 minutes and went into the locker room down 31-24.

The Eagles' size was too much for Chapman as they out-rebounded the Panthers 48-29 and scored 23 second-chance points. Biola also handled Chapman's full-court press fairly well, limiting the Panthers to just five steals. Chapman had been averaging over 12.5 steals per game before Thursday night.

Biola F Jessilyn Conicelli led all scorers with 21 points and eight rebounds. Eagles' G Jennifer French came off the bench and added nine points with a trio of three-pointers.

Yamamoto was the only Chapman player to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points and a pair of threes. Junior F Simone Ibbotson added eight points.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Box Score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2009-10/stats/bu-cu.htm