Women's hoops wins third straight with victory over Albion

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team moved to .500 on the year with a decisive 69-54 win over visiting Albion on Wednesday. The Panthers (5-5) overcame a slow start and forced 23 turnovers to key their third victory in a row.

A balanced effort saw four players score in double figures from Chapman with junior Megan Charles and sophomore Jaime Hum-Nishikado scoring 13 points apiece to lead the way. Natalia Ebrahimian was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Despite falling behind 11-1 to start the game, Chapman was able to take control early in the second quarter and led by as many as 22 points in the fourth. The Panthers held the Britons (3-8) to just 2-of-12 shooting in the second quarter and outscored the visitors 20-7 for a 31-22 lead at halftime.

Albion fell further behind in the third as it shot just 29 percent in the period while Chapman shot 61.5 percent. Darian Payne did all she could to bring the Britons back in the fourth, scoring 10 of her game-high 22 points in the final quarter. The Britons cut the lead down to 10 but never came within single digits as Chapman hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Payne also had a game-high of nine rebounds. Senior Lauren Sato had 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal to help fuel the Panthers win.

Chapman takes its modest winning streak into conference play this weekend. The Panthers host Whittier at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the second game of a SCIAC doubleheader between Chapman and Whittier.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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