Women's basketball drops high-scoring game to No. 3 Bowdoin

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team fell 93-81 to No. 3 Bowdoin to close out the 2019 portion of its schedule. Sophomore Julia Strand scored 25 points but the Polar Bears (11-0) pulled away down the stretch to stay undefeated.

After falling in an early hole, the Panthers came out strong in the second quarter. The deficit reached double digits earlier in the quarter but Chapman responded with a 7-0 run to cut it down to three. Bowdoin pushed it back to six points before the Panthers went on a 9-3 run to tie up the game just seven seconds before halftime.

A long pass to Strand off the inbound turned into an easy layup to tie up the game at 39-39. The Polar Bears quickly turned back the other way and Samantha Roy banked in a three-pointer just inside of half court to give the Polar Bears a 42-39 lead at the break.

The Polar Bears led the final 20 minutes after Roy's desperation three but had to push back multiple Chapman runs. The Polar Bear led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter but saw the lead dwindle to 66-63 after a pair of free throws from sophomore Brittany McPherson. A 6-0 run over the final 1:23 of the quarter pushed the lead comfortably back to nine.

The teams traded baskets through the majority of the fourth quarter as Chapman could never pull closer than eight points and Bowdoin knocked down its free throws in the final minute to continue to pull away. Maddie Hasson scored 37 points to lead the effort for the Polar Bears as the five starters combined for 85 points.

Strand ended up with a double-double for the third game in a row with 11 rebounds to go along with her 25 points. Seniors Marissa Dunn and Lucy Criswell each scored 17 points as the Chapman starters had a big night in combining for 72 points. Criswell also had eight rebounds and four assists.

The Polar Bears shot 54.2 percent and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. The Panthers grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, pulling in more rebounds on the offensive end than the defensive end for the second night in a row.

The Panthers tough stretch of schedule continues into 2020 as the Panthers open up the new year with No. 6 Amherst on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. It will be the third top-10 opponent out of their last five games in less than three weeks.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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