Women's basketball drops tight contest in OT

ORANGE, Calif — Women's basketball dropped a heartbreaker to resume SCIAC play, 66-62 OT, against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

The Panthers led for nearly the entire contest, only trailing for a total of 1:40 combined throughout regulation, for 12 seconds in the second quarter and for another 1:28 span in the third. 

Chapman grew its lead to 15 points nearly midway through the fourth quarter at 6:39. From there, the Sagehens scratched and clawed their way back, only evening up the score with a three-pointer with 14 seconds remaining. Come overtime, the Sagehens took the lead immediately via two free throws — scoring every single point from the line in OT — and leading from there on out.

One major moment in the contest came when Julia Strand fouled out via an offensive foul with 2:19 remaining in the fourth. She was one of the two Panthers, Zoe Zurasky the other, with a positive +/- in the contest, with Chapman out scoring the Sagehens by six points with her on the floor.

Strand, along with Mia Yamamoto, were both strong presences on the inside, Yamamoto finishing with a game-high 18 points and Strand collecting another double-double with 15 points and 14 boards.

With the loss, Chapman dropped to 6-7 and 1-4 in SCIAC play. Pomona-Pitzer improved to 4-7 and 2-3 in SCIAC play.

The Panthers face another tough test taking on the SCIAC-leading La Verne Leopards on the road. The game will be a double-header with the men's team with the women starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7.

By Joe Perrino

Assistant SID / Recreation Sports Manager

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