Panthers stay perfect at home, win fourth straight

ORANGE, Calif. – The Panthers 1-3 start is merely a fading memory now. The Chapman University women's basketball team won its fourth straight game – 3-0 at home – while beating visiting University of La Verne 93-65 at the Hutton Sports Center on Wednesday night.

The Panthers received a huge lift from their bench which scored 58 points led by senior C Brandi Hood's double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) and junior G Mary Petrie (16 points). Chapman (5-3) has scored more than 90 points twice during its current four-game winning streak.

Facing a brief deficit early, Chapman went on a furious 20-2 run before the 13-minute mark of the first half and opened up a 15-point lead. Senior F Simone Ibbotson's basket with 7:05 left in the half gave the Panthers their largest lead to that point at 39-14. Ibbotson finished with a game-high 19 points before fouling out late in the game.

Chapman stretched its lead to 30 points in the second half on a jumper from Petrie with 9 minutes to play. La Verne (2-4) would never get closer than 21 points before suffering its first road defeat of the young season.

The Panthers shot over 50 percent from the field (33-for-65, 50.8 percent) for the second time this year. A smothering Chapman defense also forced 24 Leopard turnovers, including 13 steals. Senior G Casey Gomez led the Panthers with four steals and three assists.

La Verne had two players reach double-digits in scoring: Stephanie Shepard (13 points) and Emily Carrillo (12 points).

Chapman will put its perfect home record on the line with one more home game before the holidays on Sunday when it hosts North Central College (Ill.) at 1 p.m. at Hutton Center.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2010-11/files/ulv-cu.htm