Women’s basketball: Olivet rallies to beat Chapman, 61-54

REDLANDS, Calif. – The Olivet College women's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Chapman (Calif.) University, 61-54, tonight at the second day of the University of Redlands (Calif.) Tip-Off Classic. Junior Shauni Hankins was named to the all-tournament team.

The Comets (2-2) trailed by 10 points, 36-26, at the 18:45 mark of the second half. The Panthers continued to lead until Olivet took a 49-48 lead with 4:45 remaining in the game. The teams traded baskets before Chapman drained a free throw to tie the game at 52-52 with two minutes left. Each team then split two free throws for another tie, 53-53.

With 55 ticks left in the game, junior Dallas Austin nailed a three-pointer from the right-baseline to put the Comets ahead 56-53. Chapman missed a basket and Hankins grabbed the defensive rebound. She quickly got the ball up the court to senior Stefanie Lang, who was open under the basket for a layup to make the score 58-53.

The Panthers made a free throw to cut their deficit to four, 58-54. Olivet then made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 10 seconds to close out the come-from-behind win.

In the first half, Chapman led by seven points three times, with the last time being 19-12 at the 8:52 mark. The Comets answered with an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 20-19. The Panthers answered with a 13-2 scoring run to gain their largest lead of the half, 32-22, with 2:53 remaining before the break. Olivet trailed by six points, 32-26, at halftime.

The teams had nearly identical shooting percentages, 34.7 percent (17-of-49) for the Comets to 34.4 percent (22-of-64) for Chapman. Both teams had three triples. The difference in the game was Olivet made 24-of-32 free throws, while the Panthers were 7-of-13 from the charity stripe.

Lang led all players with 15 points and 17 rebounds, with nine rebounds coming off the defensive glass. Hankins contributed 13 points, while Austin had 10 points.

Andrea Villanueva was the only Chapman player to score in double digits with 13 points. Natalia Ebrahimian grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Olivet now turns its attention to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play and a Monday, Dec. 1, game against Albion College. Tip-off from Kresge Gym in Albion is 7:30 p.m.