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Leos fall to Chapman in tourney

University of La Verne earned its third Women’s Basketball SCIAC Conference Title, with an overall record of 19-6. Point guard Lindsey Shiomi set the ULV single-game record as well as the first record in SCIAC for connecting 8 three-point attempts in the final game against Pomona Pitzer. / photo by Rhiannon Mim
University of La Verne earned its third Women’s Basketball SCIAC Conference Title, with an overall record of 19-6. Point guard Lindsey Shiomi set the ULV single-game record as well as the first record in SCIAC for connecting 8 three-point attempts in the final game against Pomona Pitzer. / photo by Rhiannon Mim

Taryn Aguilar
Staff Writer

After clinching a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the third time in team history, the La Verne women’s basketball team suffered a 108-97 loss to Chapman in the first round of the NCAA tournament Feb. 28 at the Hutton Center in Orange.

The Panthers came back from an 18-point deficit in the second half to force an overtime in which Chapman rallied for the win.

La Verne faced the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in their last conference game on Feb. 22.

The teams went shot for shot with each other but it was not long before the Leopards went on a shooting spree.

It only took ULV 12 minutes to get out to a 32-13 lead and their points did not come in streaks; they were consistent in making shots the entire game.

La Verne shot 63 percent from the field and 79 percent beyond the arc.

The stand-out Leopards of the night were Trenecca Jones and Lindsey Shiomi.

Jones had 20 points with 12 rebounds which led to her 15th double-double of the season.

Shiomi had the game high 26 points and she also set the school record with eight 3-pointers in a game.

She accomplished the feat with nine minutes left in the second half and if she had not been taken out, Shiomi would probably have shattered the record even further.

University of La Verne freshman Jennifer Wong managed to keep possession of the ball in the final game of the regular season, and defeated Pomona Pitzer 92-55, Feb. 22. The Leopards shot 35 of 36 from the field and 11 of 18 beyond the arc. The SCIAC champions fell to Chapman in the first round in NCAA Division 3 Championship, 108-97. / photo by Rhiannon Mim
University of La Verne freshman Jennifer Wong managed to keep possession of the ball in the final game of the regular season, and defeated Pomona Pitzer 92-55, Feb. 22. The Leopards shot 35 of 36 from the field and 11 of 18 beyond the arc. The SCIAC champions fell to Chapman in the first round in NCAA Division 3 Championship, 108-97. / photo by Rhiannon Mim

“I was definitely not trying to do it,” junior guard Shiomi said. “It just happened.”

Their leading scorer of the night was Raquel Viramontes with 15 points but there was not really one player they turned to to make the clutch shots.

Pomona-Pitzer did have good fundamentals but it was failing to work for them as they were unable to drive the ball to the basket.

They made the occasional 3-pointer but lay-ups seemed inaccessible at times with ULV’s strong defense keeping them at bay.

Without being able to penetrate the three-point line, Pomona-Pitzer was forced to pass and too often they ran down the shot clock and were forced to rush their shots.

ULV was deserving of this win and of the SCIAC championship. This group of women is the third team in ULV history to win the league title.

“It’s always good to be a part of the history books,” sophomore forward Jones said.

“This is what they’ve wanted from the beginning,” head coach Julie Kline said. “It’s a credit to their determination and hard work to achieve their goals.”

With this last league win, the SCIAC conference champion Leopards concluded their season with a 19-7 record.

Taryn Aguilar can be reached at taguilar@ulv.edu.

Taryn Aguilar
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