Freshman’s Naivete Comes in Handy

When Chapman women’s basketball Coach Mary Hegarty diagramed the play, a layup by Lyndsay Brown was the first option. Turns out, Brown was the Panthers’ only chance.

Trailing UC San Diego by one point with 16 seconds left last Friday, Chapman botched the play and Monique Sweet could only manage an off-balance 20-footer with time running out. The shot missed badly and bounced once before Brown picked it up and made a three-foot bank shot. The buzzer sounded while the ball was in the air.

Brown said she had no idea how much time was left.

“The naivete of a freshman might have come in handy,” Hegarty said, “because she didn’t even know what she had really done until the rest of the team jumped on her.”

It was a big shot in the arm for the Panthers, who won, 69-68, and might have enhanced their chances to make the NCAA Division III playoffs.

It might not have happened if it weren’t for Brown, who nearly didn’t play for Chapman this season. A standout and captain at Esperanza High last season, she decided to sit out at least her freshman year at Chapman.

Basketball wasn’t an issue when she decided to attend Chapman. She wanted to go to a small school, and Chapman’s intimate campus and 3,200-member student body fit the bill. Plus, her family has incredibly strong ties to Chapman.

Brown said 20 of her relatives have attended Chapman, including her parents and all four of her grandparents. A great-grandfather even attended the institution in the 1920s when it was called California Christian and the campus was in Los Angeles. Brown’s father, Doug, and grandfather, George, played basketball for Chapman.

Last spring, after Brown decided to enroll at Chapman, her father put together a highlight tape from her senior season at Esperanza and gave it to Hegarty. Hegarty was intrigued, especially since Esperanza was the only team to beat state Division II champion Woodbridge last season.

“It was obvious she could be effective for us,” Hegarty said.

But when school started last fall, Brown decided she wanted a break from basketball. “I guess I wanted to keep all the memories from high school basketball,” she said. “And for the first couple of months, it was really neat to have all the free time.”

Eventually, however, she gravitated to the gym for pickup games and made friends with a number of players on the team. After a few sessions she was hooked and about two weeks before practice started, Brown asked to join the team.

Now, after struggling through conditioning and the first few months of the season, Brown has worked her way into the rotation. She fits in among Chapman’s post players, the tallest of whom is 5 feet 11.

Brown is listed at 5-10, but admits she’s only 5-8 without shoes. Hegarty said Brown excels because she is fearless.

“She has probably been one of our most consistent post players,” Hegarty said. “One thing that makes her stand out is she always plays as hard as she can.”

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Despite their 7-7 record, the Panthers are ranked ninth in the Division III West Region poll this week. Hegarty said it’s because of a tough schedule and a 7-3 record against Division III opponents. The three losses are all to teams ranked in the top four in their region.

“Our losses are what they call good losses because they have been close,” Hegarty said. “But we’ve got to start beating those people now.”

The Panthers will soon get a chance to challenge some of the top teams in California. They have games remaining with UC San Diego (No. 5), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (No. 4) and Pomona-Pitzer (No. 7).

Eight teams from the West will make the NCAA playoffs.

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Upset time: Bill Reynolds, the Southern California College men’s basketball coach, wasn’t sure his team could challenge Azusa Pacific, which is ranked third in this week’s NAIA national poll.

The Vanguards were playing strong on defense, but their offense was anemic, and Azusa Pacific, with two former Division I players in its lineup, appeared as strong as ever.

When SCC fell behind, 22-7, Tuesday, it seemed as if Reynolds’ worst fears would be realized. Two seasons ago, Azusa beat SCC, 118-78, the biggest margin of victory in Golden State Athletic Conference history.

But the Vanguards got back into the game with their tenacious defense and trailed by only one at halftime. It remained close in the second half before SCC took a four-point lead with about four minutes left. SCC hung on down the stretch as Azusa kept putting putting Kevin Carlson on the free-throw line. He was six of six from the line in the final minute and finished with 33 points in the 83-75 victory.

It was an especially sweet victory for Reynolds, who has suffered through consecutive losing seasons. “The feeling that I had was just like when we used to beat Biola when they were nationally ranked,” he said. “It was a satisfied feeling, one we haven’t had in a few years.”

SCC (10-7, 2-1 in GSAC play) plays at Biola (15-4, 1-2) Saturday.

Notes

Concordia (13-5, 2-1) hosts Azusa Pacific (15-4, 2-1) in a key Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. In women’s play, Concordia (12-6, 1-2) is at first-place Azusa Pacific (12-3, 3-0) at 7:30. After winning 12 in a row, the Eagles have lost consecutive conference games. . . . Sportscaster Ed Arnold will be the keynote speaker at the Chapman athletic hall of fame induction banquet Feb. 7 at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange. Three former athletes will be inducted: Dana Beardsley, a volleyball player from 1986-89, Miles Walker, a tennis player from 1987-88, and Ollie Martin, a basketball player from 1969-71. For ticket information, call (714) 997-6523. . . . Megen Pelk, a freshman on the Chapman women’s swim team, set school records in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke last Thursday and set them again Saturday at the Claremont Invitational. Pelk’s records stand at 1 minute 10.24 seconds in the 100 back and 2:34.72 in the 200 back.