Leopards spoil Chapman's home opener

ORANGE, Calif. - Opening night wasn't as grand as the Panthers were hoping on Sunday. The Chapman University women's basketball team dropped its season opener at the Hutton Center, falling to visiting University of La Verne 75-65 in a back-and-forth battle typical of the two West Region rivals.

In a game that featured five ties and six lead changes, La Verne (1-0) took the lead for good with 8:12 left to go in the second half on two of Amanda Copas' game-high 17 points. The game remained close until the final 4 minutes when the Leopards began a 12-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 12 points with 12 seconds on the clock.

Chapman (0-1) was beaten on the boards, both offensively and defensively, as La Verne earned a 46-27 rebounding advantage in the game. On the offensive glass, in particular, the Leos out-rebounded Chapman 15-4 and had 11 second-chance points to the Panthers' two. La Verne also spent a lot of time at the foul line and capitalized, going 25 for 35 (.714) in free throw attempts. Meanwhile, Chapman was just 6 for 13 (.462) from the line.

The Panthers had led for much of the first half, taking a 31-29 lead into halftime. Chapman expanded that in the first minute of the second half by scoring the first five points and led 36-29 before La Verne began to rally.

Three Leopards reached double figures in scoring, led by Copas who scored all of her points off the bench. Ashley Paul and Clarissa Holz had 14 and 13 points each for La Verne. Holz completed the double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds, as well.

The Panthers were led by senior G Linda Ly who had 15 points and a pair of three-pointers. Junior F Simone Ibbotson made her Chapman debut with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore G Mary Petrie pitched in 10 points off the bench for the Panthers.

The loss is Chapman's first in a home opener since 2006 and second straight against La Verne, dropping a two-point decision on the road last season.

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