Charles nets 22 points in loss to No. 8 George Fox

ORANGE, Calif. – Senior Megan Charles scored 22 points but eighth-ranked George Fox pulled away in the fourth quarter as the Panthers fell 77-65. Chapman (1-2) was playing its second top-10 team in just its third game of the season.

The Panthers' high-pressure defense forced the No. 8 Bruins into 32 turnovers with the Panthers swiping 18 steals. Chapman turned the ball over 20 times to the Bruins' full-court press. Senior Lauren Sato led the defensive effort with five steals to go along with six assists and eight points.

After falling behind 18-11 in the first quarter, Chapman outscored the Bruins (4-0) in the second and the third to take a second half lead. A double digit deficit was whittled down to just four points at halftime as the Panthers ended the second quarter on a 9-3 run over the last three minutes.

Junior Jaime Hum-Nishikado brought the Panthers within one after she drained one of her three three-pointers on the night. Sophomore Katelyn Serizawa's free throw tied the game at 35-35. The Panthers forced a turnover on the other end of the floor and took a 37-35 lead on a bucket from Charles.

The lead change set off a flurry of changes in the third quarter. The game saw the lead change hands eight times and tied eight more times. Chapman was up two with just under a minute to go in the third quarter but Kaitlin Jamieson scored every point of a 6-0 run to put the Bruins out in front 49-45. Charles steal and lay in as time expired brought the Panthers within two heading into the final quarter.

George Fox caught fire in the fourth quarter to put up 28 points and pull away for the win. The Bruins made 8-of-10 shots, including 4-of-5 three-pointers, and 8-of-10 free throws. Jamieson led the Bruins with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kaycee Creech had 11 points and Emily Spencer scored 11 off the bench.

Hum-Nishikado had 14 points for the Panthers but Chapman shot just 32.9 percent from the field and 25 percent beyond the arc. The Bruins made 8-of-19 threes and shot 47.8 percent on the night.

Chapman returns home on Saturday to face Biola at 5 p.m. in Hutton Sports Center.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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