Chapman’s Streak Ends Quietly

The Chapman women’s basketball team hoped to finish the regular season in a position of strength, leaving no doubt that it was worthy of an NCAA Division III tournament berth.

The Panthers took a nine-game winning streak into Saturday’s game at UC San Diego, its toughest rival, and battled hard for 40 minutes. But UC San Diego absorbed it all and Chapman went down meekly, 86-62, in front of a crowd of 425.

Now Chapman (19-6) must hope its best record since the 1984-85 season will be enough to earn one of eight West Region playoff spots when they are announced next Sunday. The Panthers are ranked sixth in the region. San Diego is fourth.

Usually three California teams receive bids from the NCAA selection committee, and the Tritons and Panthers are clearly two of the top teams in the state; however, Chapman Coach Mary Hegarty, the independent representative on the committee, is wary.

“I’d like to think they won’t knock us out of the rankings, but you never know,” Hegarty said. “I just hope this isn’t enough to erase a great season.”

The last time these teams played, Jan. 15, San Diego staged a second-half rally to win, 76-71, in Orange. That wasn’t necessary Saturday.

The Tritons (18-5) took control in the first half, leading by 13 at the break, and never let Chapman back into the game. Especially costly for the Panthers was a 7-minute 47-second span in the first half in which they didn’t make a field goal. San Diego forward Sarah Schneider scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the stretch and the Tritons’ 14-4 run gave them a 10-point lead.

Chapman tried to scramble back in the second half, but even when the Panthers managed to stop San Diego, which happened only sporadically, they couldn’t take advantage on offense. With 10 minutes left, the San Diego lead had grown to 20.

“I told our team that I didn’t question our effort or our heart,” Hegarty said afterward. “But our energy just was not productive. We didn’t make the plays and they did.”

Chapman never had any rhythm on offense, which helped explain the Panthers’ 25 turnovers, 16 in the first half.

It also helped San Diego shackle Chapman’s post players and leading scorers, Lyndsay Brown and Stef McNamara. McNamara had 12 points and Brown 11.