Nothing "light" for openers; Chapman falls to The Master's in Hutton debut

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University women's basketball head coach Carol Jue has never been much for scheduling easy opponents. While some schools aim to open their seasons on a high note with "lighter" competition, Jue's always been a believer in challenging her teams right away.

That's one reason why the Panthers lost their home opener for the third straight year, a 55-52 defeat to visiting The Master's College on Saturday night at the Hutton Sports Center. The Mustangs, ranked No. 14 in NAIA Division I, proved too much for the Panthers thus spoiling their debut in front of the home crowd. Chapman (1-2 overall) has now lost four of its past six home debuts.

Nonetheless, it was a tightly-contested game in which the Panthers came up just shy. The matchup featured eight lead changes and neither team led by more than five points throughout the game.

It was a seven-point swing late in the second half that sealed the win for The Master's (5-2 overall). Chapman had led for much of the second half and held a 44-42 advantage with 9:09 to play. But three straight field goals by the Mustangs, including a three-pointer by F Shannon Kingery gave The Master's a five-point lead. Although the Panthers would rally to tie the score twice more, they never led after that. Chapman was held to just two field goals in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Kingery led all scorers with 12 points, including three three-pointers and added five rebounds. Mustangs' G Nicole Nitake added 11 points.

Senior G Andrea Villanueva led Chapman with 11 points and eight assists, while senior C Ivory Hallstein grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Chapman will play four of its next five games at home beginning with hosting Trinity University (Texas) on Friday at 5 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2014-15/boxscores/20141129_qv9z.xml

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