ORANGE, Calif. — Chapman women's water polo opened up SCIAC play Wednesday evening against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps during heavy intense rainfall at home. The Panthers ended up falling 9-7 to the Athenas, with a fourth quarter come back proving to be too little too late. 

Sophomore attacker Kendall Pappan put away three goals leading all Panther scorers on the evening. Pappan proved to be the sparkplug the Panthers needed, after trailing as much as 6-1 in the second half. Senior star Alyssa Fricker also contributed another two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Zoey Francis contributed another 12 saves and two steals defensively to keep her team within striking distance. 

CMS proved too much to handle, netting five goals in the first quarter. Goalkeeper Mason Spencer had 14 saves on the day while Valerie Wraith netted three goals and three other players had another two goals each. 

Late in the second half, the Panthers mounted a fourth quarter comeback, scoring four goals quickly in the fourth quarter. All of the sudden, the big half-time lead the Athenas built had almost vanished. With just thirty seconds remaining, Chapman found themselves down two goals, but it was too little too late. Despite the close loss, Chapman built up momentum that they will look to carry on throughout the rest of SCIAC play. 

The Panthers will head on the road to play Cal Lutheran on Saturday, Mar. 8.