Women's hoops set to host SCIAC Tournament first round game

ORANGE, Calif. – On the strength of an eight-game conference winning streak, the Chapman University women's basketball team has secured the No. 2 seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament and will host the University of Redlands in a first round game on Thursday night at the Hutton Sports Center. It is the Panthers' first time ever playing in the SCIAC Tournament in Chapman's first year of eligibility in the conference.

Both the Panthers and Bulldogs finished with 12-4 records in conference play, but Chapman drew the higher seed in the tiebreaker having swept Redlands (19-6 overall) in two games head-to-head. The winner will advance to face either regular season SCIAC champion Cal Lutheran University or No. 4-seed Occidental College on Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

The Panthers enter the tournament red-hot, having won eight in a row and nine of 10, all within conference play. Chapman's only loss during that stretch was a three-point loss to Cal Lutheran on the road.

Chapman (20-5 overall, 12-4 SCIAC) has been led by junior G Kimi Takaoka who is averaging 17.9 points and has a team-high 41 three-pointers. The SCIAC's second-leading scorer has had double-figure point totals in all but three games this season, including 20 or more in four of Chapman's last five games. Freshman F Sandra Gao has also been one of the conference's top players, ranking fifth in both scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.8) and has six double-doubles this year.

The Panthers defeated the Bulldogs twice this season, including a five-point win in Redlands just two weeks ago. Chapman handed Redlands a 13-point loss when the two teams meet at Hutton Center in January. Chapman split home-and-home series with both of the remaining tournament teams Cal Lutheran and Occidental.

General admission tickets for the Panthers' first round home game will be $5. Students/faculty with proper ID, as well as children 12 and under will be free.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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