The women’s basketball team dropped back-to-back games to Chapman and Occidental, eliminating the Leopards from playoff contention.
Despite three Leopards scoring in double digits against Chapman, it was not enough. The women’s basketball team fell to the Panthers in overtime, 86-85, Saturday at Frantz Athletic Court.
La Verne falls to 6-9 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 13-10 overall.
This puts the Leopards in seventh place in the conference, removing them from playoff contention.
Junior guard Jasmine Xiong got the Leopards on the board first with two points, but the Panthers quickly took the lead and kept it for the remainder of the quarter, 22-14.
Xiong had a big day, scoring 20 points to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
La Verne’s constant substitutions helped them outscore Chapman in the quarter, but they still trailed, 37-35, at halftime.
Tough defense kept scoring low in the third quarter but as the fourth quarter heated up, both defenses began to collapse.
Junior guard Jazzlyn Johnson led the Leopards in the final quarter, finishing with 20 points and five rebounds.
The final Leopard push, though potent, was not enough to retain the lead, with regulation ending in a 72-72 tie.
Despite clutch shots from Xiong and junior forward Alondra Ponce, the Panthers still pulled ahead in overtime.
With the score at 86-83 and 1.3 seconds left on the clock, the Leopards needed a three.
Instead junior guard Dejanee Gill went for a layup to make the final score 86-85.
La Verne then lost to Occidental 78-74 on Wednesday.
–Joey Matsuzawa
