Strong defensive effort keys win over Whittier
ORANGE, Calif. – Senior Julia Strand continued her dominant return to the court and the Chapman University women's basketball team defeated visiting Whittier 56-49. The defense shut down the Poets in the middle quarters and the Panthers held on in the fourth for the win.
Strand put up her fifth double-double in just six games played this season with 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Panthers. Senior Brittany McPherson contributed 13 points and eight rebounds while freshman Zoe Zurasky pitched in an electrifying six points off the bench.
The Panthers fell behind early, allowing the Poets to score the first nine points of the game and finding themselves in a 17-9 hole after the first quarter. The defense sparked a quick comeback in the second quarter as the Poets were held to 1-of-14 shooting and managed to put just four points on the scoreboard.
In the first two minutes of the quarter, the Panthers pulled within one. Zurasky then drove to the rim for back-to-back layups to put Chapman in front 20-17. Strand added a layup and finished off a 13-0 run for the Panthers over the first five-plus minutes of the quarter.
Whittier responded with four points in a 45-second segment of the quarter but went silent again over the final three and a half minutes. McPherson knocked down a mid-range jumper, Strand converted a three-point play and Zurasky added her third layup to make it 29-21 at halftime.
The Poets didn't find an answer in the third quarter as they managed to add just seven points on the scoreboard and went cold over the final 3:51. Chapman ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to push the lead to 17 points.
The lead grew to 19 points with eight minutes to play in the fourth before Whittier began to chip away at the lead. As the fourth quarter passed the midway point, Whittier went on a 12-0 run to turn an 18-point deficit into just six points with 1:42 to play. Chapman went nearly five minutes without a point before McPherson put the game out of reach with a couple of free throws with 33 seconds left to make it 54-36.
A three-pointer just before the buzzer scored Whittier's final points but not before Katie Kubo knocked down her free throws to push the lead back to double digits.
The Panthers held the reigning SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week Lainie James to just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. Teani White was the only Poet in double figures with 13 points.
Chapman continues its homestand on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. contest against Occidental.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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