Women's basketball falls in SCIAC Semifinal

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's basketball team fell 71-66 to Pomona-Pitzer in the semifinal round of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. With the loss, the Panthers' season comes to a close.

Chapman overcame a slow start to the season to go 11-5 in the SCIAC and finish the regular season in a tie for second with Pomona-Pitzer. Senior Julia Strand broke the school record for scoring average in a season as she finished the season with 22.7 points per game in 2021-22.

The record of 22.3 had been accomplished twice before from Hall of Famer Belinda Arterberry in 1981-82 and Melody Bongiorno in 2002-03. Strand becomes just the third Panther since 1994 to average over 20 points per game in a season.

Strand scored 23 points with 17 rebounds as she also became just the second Panther since 1994 to average double digit rebounds in a game (11.2 in 2021-22). Senior Brittany McPherson also contributed a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists to go along with six rebounds.

A close game throughout, the lead never reached double digits on either side. The Sagehens led by three at halftime but Chapman tied it at 40-40 on a Zoe Zurasky layup with 6:40 to go in the third. The Sagehens responded with an 11-4 run and opened up their biggest lead at 53-44 with just 1:40 left in the quarter.

The Panthers scored the final five points of the quarter to pull back within four. After Strand grabbed a rebound in the final seconds, she sprinted down the floor to drop in a layup at the buzzer as she was fouled. She also knocked down the free throw to make it 53-49 heading into the fourth.

The teams went back and forth throughout the fourth. Chapman had a chance to tie the game on the free throw line but converted just one of the two shots to stay down 61-60 with just under two minutes to go. After forcing a turnover on the next possession, the Panthers had another chance to take the lead but a shot rimmed out and Pomona-Pitzer scored the next six points to take control before knocking down free throws down the stretch to advance to the championship game.

The lower seed won in both games as Whittier upset Redlands in the other semifinal.

Chapman's season comes to an end with the loss but made its return to the top-4 in the standings. Chapman has finished outside the top-4 just once since joining the SCIAC 2012-13.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChpmanSports