The women's basketball team lost twice last week to Biola University 72-58 Thursday and Cal State San Marcos 66-51 Saturday in the Hutton Sports Center. Chapman (12-12) played poor second-half defense.
After losing their second consecutive home game, the team's win percentage dropped to .500 for the first time in Head Coach Carol Jue's nine seasons at Chapman.
Junior guard Emily McCoy said the losses occurred because the team lost its stamina.
"The attitudes on our faces show everything and it's not a good thing," she said. "We all have the heart to win, we just can't seem to finish the game."
McCoy and senior guard Stephanie Servin led Chapman's offense with 12 points each. McCoy shot six for 10 at the free throw line while Servin shot four for seven on three-pointers.
"Everything this season has been a learning experience for us," Jue said. "This team needs to learn how to lose before they can learn how to win."
The Panthers turned on damage control in the first half Saturday, never letting San Marcos gain more than a five-point lead. Three three-pointers by Servin put Chapman ahead 30-27 at halftime.
San Marcos (16-14) sparked in the second half, stretching to a 63-49 lead after junior forward Gabriell Munsch sank a pair of free throws with one minute remaining. Two missed free throws by freshman guard Andrea Villanueva sealed the victory for the Cougars.
Jue said the team is composed of a lot of young players who are still learning how to play with one another.
"I'm hoping the experience this season will teach us to have more discipline and better prepare us for next year," Jue said.
The team welcomed back sophomore starting guard Kimi Takaoka, who was out the past two weeks with a sprained ankle. Takaoka leads the team with 350 total points, averaging 15.2 per game and shooting 82.4 percent on the season.
Takaoka attributes the loss to excessive fouls and allowing the opposing teams too many opportunities to score.
"I felt good about playing again but I think I could have contributed more," Takaoka said. "The reason why we win is because we play really good defense. We got too far away from our game plan."
The Cougars' offense was directed by junior guard Sidney Dobner, who led all players with a game-high 18 points. Dobner scored one three-pointer and two rebounds.
Chapman will seek a winning record in its final game of the season 1 p.m. Saturday against UC Santa Cruz in the Hutton Sports Center. After falling to the Banana Slugs last month in a tight 58-56 loss, the game is now a personal point for the exhausted players.
"We all want to take this game for our seniors," McCoy said. "They should never have beaten us the first time and they better be ready."
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