ORANGE, Calif. –  Senior Lauren Sato produced a career-high 27 points to lift the Chapman University women's basketball team to a 71-59 victory over Whittier College on Saturday at the Hutton Sports Center. Sato hit seven triples and was 9-for-13 in the field to help the Panthers to their fifth SCIAC victory.

Trailing 8-0 in the first two minutes of the game, the Panthers closed the deficit to 15-14 at the end of the first quarter. Chapman went on to trade leads twice with the Poets before Sato drained three from behind the arc to lift Chapman to a 21-17 lead with 7:41 left in the second period.

The Panthers caught fire over the next seven minutes, outscoring the Poets 19-6 in the second period, ending the half leading 33-21.  

Chapman (8-8 overall, 5-2 SCIAC) continued to build its lead in the second half. Sato hit her sixth triple of the game to start the fourth quarter, lifting Chapman to a 58-40 lead with nine minutes left in the game.

Three Panthers recorded double-digit efforts to finish the game 71-59. Senior Megan Charles scored 14 points and junior Jaime Hum-Nishikado added 13 points for the Panthers. Sophomore Jaryn Fajardo continued to dominate the Panther passing game, with a game-high nine assists.

Chapman will travel to Caltech for a SCIAC match at 7 p.m. on Wed., January 25. The Panthers return home, Sat., January 28 for a 2 p.m. game against Cal Lutheran.

by Raquel Rinauro

Sports Information Assistant

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