Trossi Makes First Appearance on CACC Weekly Report
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New Haven, Conn. - (12/14/2015) â Finding her stride as a rookie floor general, freshman guard Mary Trossi (Somerset, N.J.) played her way onto this weekâs Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Honor Roll for the first time this season. Averaging 14.0 points-per-game (PPG), 5.5 rebounds-per-game (RPG), and 5.5 assists-per-game (APG), Trossi has played a major role in the Griffinsâ recent endeavors.
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Playing off Trossiâs lead, Chestnut Hill College (3-5, 1-2) overcame an early double-digit deficit and 24 turnovers to keep the pressure on Goldey-Beacom College in a narrow 81-78 CACC final. Three Lightning combined to score 65 points while Trossi headlined four Griffins in double figures with 24 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. She was 8-of-16 (.500) from the floor and 7-of-10 (.700) from the free throw line in her highest scoring effort of the season.
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The Lightning had the final say of the first half, scoring seven straight points for a 36-33 halftime advantage. The Griffins erased that lead five minutes into the third quarter (5:31), tying the contest at 41-41 on a three-point basket from junior forward Caity Kuhnen (Binghamton, N.Y.). From there, the affair stayed tight with layups from Trossi and freshman forward Jaeda Wildgoose (Somerset, N.J.) giving the Griffins a slight 52-51 advantage as the quarter came to a close. Sophomore forward Nicole Parriski (Burlington, N.J.) worked hard under the basket, growing the Griffin lead to six points, 57-51, before the nine-minute mark (9:12) of the fourth quarter, but the Lightning resistance that collapsed the lead just two minutes later (7:04), 57-57, before pulling away late in a three-point victory, 81-78.
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Friday night's CACC engagement at the University of the Sciences (USciences) became a battle of attrition as the cross-city rivals a combined to shoot 35.0% (41-of-117) from the floor and turn the ball over 34 times in a 61-47 final that fell in the home team's favor. Three Devils finished in double figures while junior guard Brittany McDonough (Brooklyn, N.Y.) headlined the Griffin effort with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Trossi finished with four points, five rebounds, and four assists.
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Amidst the chaos, USciences secured an 11-4 first quarter advantage at 3:15, but by the end of the period the Devil lead reached a dozen (12) points, 21-9, and it grew to as many as 14 points, 26-12, on an early second-quarter (8:54).
?Trossi spirited the Chestnut Hill College response that cut the deficit in half, 28-21, at 6:15 and down to a few as five points, 28-23, after a five-point McDonough flourish that brought the Griffins back into the contest. Unfortunately, easy come, easy go, as back-to-back Devil three pointers returned the edge to 11 points, 34-23, less than two minutes later (4:30) and there it remained for the halftime break, 38-27.
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At the start of the second half it was junior forward Lauren Milligan (South Hampton, England) who rallied the Griffins. While she made a couple key blocks and headlined the Chestnut Hill College rebounding effort, McDonough and Wildgoose made a made a couple baskets apiece before a three point splash from Kuhnen put the Griffins within two points, 40-38 (6:18). But the Devils never surrendered the lead, restoring their advantage to double-digits, 50-39, just before the end of the third quarter (0:54). In their last bid to take the contest, the Griffins scored the first five points of the final frame and once again gashed the gap to just four points, 51-47, on a pair of McDonough free throws at 5:32. But the rally fizzled on a turnover and a couple of ill-timed fouls that inspired the Devils to a 14-point, 61-47, league win.
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Trossi is currently averaging 11.0 PPG and 6.1 RPG, while recording a team-high 31 assists and two steals.
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Chestnut Hill College plays their next CACC contest at Wilmington University on Wednesday, December 16, when they challenge the Wildcats in a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.Â
