Star players lead women’s basketball team through comeback season

Chapman’s women’s basketball team goes neck-and-neck against the University of La Verne at a Feb. 22 home game. Photos by MADDIE MANTOOTH, Staff Photographer

After sustaining multiple injuries and a slow start to the season, the women’s basketball team managed to land themselves the number two spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) heading into the postseason tournament.

The team worked diligently to prepare for the year, especially after the past two seasons were canceled, and the team’s commitment to practices and their hard work paid off. 

Senior business administration major Julia Strand became a standout player her first year on the team, which made her torn ACL injury following the 2020 season all the more devastating. Strand was one of the key players credited with helping lead the team to victory during these past couple of months, though she said she couldn’t have done it without fellow returners.

Small forward Julia Strand, a senior business administration major, signals to a fellow teammate across the court.

“It was really tough and mentally traumatizing getting another surgery (November 2021), but I have had Brittany, Julianna and Orel since freshman year by me … to make sure I’m okay, and our coach too,” Strand said.

Carol Jue, the team’s head coach, told The Panther this season’s team was special, and it was both a difficult and rewarding climb to the top.  

“From almost thinking we were in last place (to finishing second out of nine conference teams) … speaks volumes of the work mentally and physically that (the team) put in,” Jue said.

Because COVID-19 kept the Panthers off the court for so long, Jue described the team’s dynamic the past few months as being directed by seniors and fifth year students leading what appears to be three classes of rookies. Jue explained that, even though the team faced losses in the beginning of the season, she encouraged them to not give up.

“It was really hard to bring (the team) all together, but we were starting to get that as the season went on, especially defensively,” Jue said.

In her 19th season of coaching at Chapman, key players like Strand and guard Brittany McPherson, a graduate student in the university’s curriculum and instruction program, have made this last season successful and memorable. McPherson was voted onto the All-SCIAC second team this season, and led the team alongside Strand. 

“(McPherson) knows what it takes to win,” Jue said. “She has done so much, on and off the court, for our team.”

McPherson commented on the two-man effort she and Strand took on as they rallied the team together.

“(Strand) is an outstanding player, and I loved being able to be out on the court with her,” McPherson said. “I could not be happier that she had such an amazing season.”

Strand, who received the First Team award and Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, also led the conference in scoring and rebounds, landing her and Chapman national recognition by D3Hoops as Team of the Week.

“If she had the whole season, who knows what she could have done,” said Jue, commenting on how Strand had knee surgery just days before the team’s first game. 

Strand gets physical, pushing back the opposing team as The Panthers attempt to score a basket.

Strand attributes the momentum she gained after healing from her knee injury to her teammates.  Besides the team being supportive of her success on the court, Strand said she would have never had the courage to come back through her injuries if they hadn’t believed in her from the start.

“What helped me get through (my surgery) was definitely my teammates, (and) when I finally got back, they fully trusted me to be on the court and be a leader,” Strand said. “They made me a captain without me even playing at that point, which made me feel really good that they trusted me.”

The award-winning basketball star also credits Jue for getting her through this time in her athletic career. 

“It's just one of the most family-like programs I have ever been in and everyone just loves each other and wants what’s best for each other, and I felt that a lot, especially when I got injured,” Strand said. 

Play-by-play commentator Josh Fernandez, a freshman broadcast journalism major, had the opportunity to watch the team’s momentum grow this season. Fernandez told The Panther that Strand’s skills go beyond just being a dominant athlete.

“Her positive attitude and work ethic is unmatched and is definitely a key to the success the team had this year,” Fernandez said. “Julia was a leader of the team and proved it, putting in consistent effort as well as putting in the most minutes on the team.”

Jue is looking forward to another season leading the team and believes a SCIAC championship title is in sight.