Women's basketball downs Caltech for home-opening win

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team cruised to an 86-59 win over Caltech in its home and SCIAC opener. All five starters scored in double figures, led by a 20-point effort from sophomore Julianna Campas.

The Beavers battled through the first quarter but Chapman sprinted ahead in the second to take a commanding 44-19 into halftime. The Panthers caught a groove offensively, putting up 27 points on 61 percent shooting. They also locked down the visitors defensively, holding Caltech to just seven points in the quarter on 23 percent shooting.

Campas continued to pace the Panthers' scoring efforts but junior Taylor Hextrum put up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She grabbed six of her boards on the offensive end. Senior Lucy Criswell was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds. Senior Marissa Dunn also scored 10 points and led the team with six assists.

Sophomore Julia Strand scored 16 points and came away with six steals to lead a 16-steal evening for the Panthers. Dunn also swiped four while Campas and fellow sophomore Kelsey Dobbs added in a pair of steals.

The big halftime grew to 30 points near the midway point of the third quarter but Caltech went on a run to close the gap to as little as 17 points early in the fourth. After trading baskets over much of the fourth, Chapman pulled away late to the Beavers out of striking distance.

Chapman enters into a tough December-January stretch where it will face three top-10 teams in 16 days. The Panthers head to Whittier for a tournament after finals to take on No . 10 DePauw on Sunday, December 15 and Hardin-Simmons on Dec. 16.