Fajardo scores 1,000th career point in win over Cal Lutheran

ORANGE, Calif. – Senior Jaryn Fajardo became just the ninth player in Chapman's NCAA Division III history to join the 1,000 points club earlier this evening as she went off for 26 points against the visiting Cal Lutheran Regals. The guard led the Panthers to a 74-66 point victory on the historic night.

Fajardo needed 23 points to reach 1,000. She scored her 23rd and 24th points on a couple of free throws with just 26 seconds left to play in the game, surpassing the milestone with mere seconds left to play in the game. The captain also tallied a team-high six steals, reaching 200 career steals and becoming just the fourth Panther to do so since joining Division III in 1994.

The game started off slow, with the two sides locked at a score of 3-2 in favor of Chapman until the three-minute mark when junior Lucy Criswell drained a jumper to make it 5-2. The scoring picked up in the final minutes of the first quarter and the teams entered the second all tied up at 11 points each thanks to a made three-pointer from junior Marissa Dunn with 13 seconds left to play in the quarter.

Fajardo came out of the huddle strong, scoring her first points two points of the game just 16 second into the second quarter. Criswell then drained a couple of shots from beyond the arc to give Chapman a four-point advantage. Dunn extended the lead with a jumper and a layup, followed by a couple of layups from freshman Julianna Campas to finish out the half to put the Panthers up 35-28.

Freshman Julia Strand put up the first four points for the Panthers in the third quarter and the rest of the team followed suit, outscoring the Regals 24-13 while forcing them to shoot just 33.3 percent from the field. Chapman boasted an 18-point lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Cal Lutheran caught fire from beyond the arc, shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range in the fourth quarter. The Regals hit five consecutive three pointers to start the final quarter, cutting their deficit to just 10 points with five minutes left to play. Freshman Haley Tyrell brought Cal Lutheran back within single digits with just under two minutes left to play, but the Panthers held on with the help of Fajardo at the line. The senior scored the last five points for Chapman, securing the victory and her place in program history.

Dunn and Criswell helped the Panthers by each scoring in the double digits. Dunn put up 14 points while also adding an assist while Criswell scored 15 and grabbed nine boards and two steals. Fajardo added six rebounds to her line score while freshman Madison Shigeta tallied four assists, three rebounds and two points in 26 minutes off the bench.

The Panthers head out on the road for the next couple of weeks but return home on Saturday, Feb. 2 to host Pomona-Pitzer at 2pm in a SCIAC doubleheader. The men's basketball team will play after at 4pm.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

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