Hartnett helps Chapman stay perfect at home with win over Hiram

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team led for the duration as they defeated Hiram College 64-39 on Saturday night at the Hutton Sports Center in the finale of the Panther-Tiger Classic. Chapman has won four games in a row and eight of its last nine, and is a perfect 5-0 on their home court.

Junior F Liz Hartnett scored the first two baskets for Chapman (9-4), to take a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. A basket by freshman F Samantha Morford got Hiram within two points at 4-2 which as close as they would get the rest of the night. Hartnett had a game-high 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds for Chapman.

Hiram (4-7) stayed within single-digits until the 8:13 mark of the first half which is when Chapman opened its lead. With Chapman leading 18-14 after a free-throw by Hiram junior F Brenna Host, Chapman extended its lead to 10 with a 6-0 run. Free throws by Hiram senior G Tiffany Shields got them within single-digits but Hartnett answered with a basket to push Chapman's lead back to 10 at 26-16 with 5:39 remaining in the first half.

The Panthers closed out the half with a 36-21 lead after a last-second bucket by freshman G Andrea Villanueva. In the second half, Hiram could get no closer than 14 points at 38-24 after a three-pointer by Shields with 18:46 remaining. Shields had a team-high 11 points and five rebounds for Hiram.

For Chapman, senior C Brandi Hood had nine points and 10 rebounds while junior G Emily McCoy had 11 points. Senior F Ari Luna added seven rebounds for the Panthers.

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by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2011-12/boxscores/20111231_iu3e.xml