Philadelphia, PA – (11/18/2009) – Chestnut Hill College trailed Philadelphia University by three, 63-60, with a minute to play in this evening's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) opener. With the contest tied at half the Lady Rams managed to gain lead midway through the second half, but the Griffins would not be denied an opportunity to upset the defending CACC Champions. Unfortunately three points is as close as the Griffins would get, as the Lady Rams closed out the contest with a 66-60 win.

Philadelphia University (2-0, 1-0) could not shake Chestnut Hill College (0-2, 0-1) all night, as the Griffins fought tooth and nail in their opening conference contest. The Griffins were relentless defensively, forcing the Lady Rams into 11 first-half turnovers. Paired with the leadership of senior forward Jenna Beck (Philadelphia, PA ), the Griffins matched the Lady Rams in the opening period, 31-31. Senior center Jessica Romano (Horsham, Pa.) echoed Beck's effort with ten points and five rebounds to lead the Lady Rams.

The Lady Rams slowly pulled away in the early second-half action. Philadelphia University was finally able to generate some offense behind the backcourt play of senior guards, Tyler Magnus (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) and Nina Brascetta (Philadelphia, Pa.). They owned a 13-point, 47-34, advantage with 12:42 remaining, but the Griffins were persistent. With a ferocious team defense and some timely long-range shooting, the Griffins clawed back into the affair and narrowed the gap to five, 60-55, with 3:37 left on the clock. After a trade of baskets and a Lady Ram free throw, the Griffins brought the margin to three, 63-60, on a trifecta from senior forward Chanta'l Hardy (Philadelphia, PA )). In the final minute, the Lady Rams escaped thanks to a couple key turnovers.

Magnus scored 11 second-half points to lead the Lady Rams with a 17-point evening. She also teamed with Brascetta to direct the offense, combining for 16 assists out of the Lady Ram backcourt. Brascetta provided nine of those assists. Romano finished with 13 points and sophomore forward Christine Wooding (Northfield, N.J.) helped with nine points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.

Junior guard Jessica Pruiti (Old Bridge, NJ )held the hot hand for the Griffins all night. She was 2-of-4 (50.0%) from long range in the opening half and hit three more in the second half to lead the Griffins with 17 points. Hardy supplied 16 points and was one of three Griffins with eight rebounds. Beck was one of those Griffins; she also scored 13 points in the contest.

The women's basketball team travels to C.W. Post University for their next contest, a 1:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, November 21.

 PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY 66, CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE 60

PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY (2-0, 1-0 CACC)
MAGNUS, Taylor 7-11 1-3 17; ROMANO, Jessica 4-11 5-6 13; GASKINS, Ashley 3-8 3-6 9; WOODING, Christine 4-9 1-2 9; BRASCETTA, Nina 3-7 1-4 8; BRENNAN, Kate 3-11 0-0 6; PELTZER, Taylor 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 26-60 11-21 66.

CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE (0-2, 0-1 CACC)
PRUITI, Jessica 5-17 2-2 17; HARDY, Chanta'l 6-12 3-3 16; BECK, Jenna 5-14 3-3 13; GLASS, Carley 2-4 0-0 5; SMITH, Aiesha 1-6 1-1 3; YACAB, Davina 1-2 0-0 2; LAING, Latoya 1-1 0-0 2; FURROWH, Ericka 0-6 2-2 2; STAYROOK, Ashlen 0-1 0-0 0; ALEXANDER, Lindsay 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 21-65 11-13 60.

Points by Half                                         1          2          F
Philadelphia University                       31        35        66
Chestnut Hill College                          31        29        60

3-point goals--Philadelphia Univers 3-15 (MAGNUS, Taylor 2-2; BRASCETTA, Nina 1-5; BRENNAN, Kate 0-7; PELTZER, Taylor 0-1), Chestnut Hill Colleg 7-20 (PRUITI, Jessica 5-10; HARDY, Chanta'l 1-3; GLASS, Carley 1-2; FURROWH, Ericka 0-3; BECK, Jenna 0-2). Fouled out--Philadelphia Univers-None, Chestnut Hill Colleg-None. Rebounds--Philadelphia Univers 38 (WOODING, Christine 11), Chestnut Hill Colleg 46 (BECK, Jenna 8; HARDY, Chanta'l 8; SMITH, Aiesha 8). Assists--Philadelphia Univers 19 (BRASCETTA, Nina 9), Chestnut Hill Colleg 17 (SMITH, Aiesha 4; FURROWH, Ericka 4; GLASS, Carley 4). Total fouls--Philadelphia Univers 12, Chestnut Hill Colleg 19. Technical fouls--Philadelphia Univers-None, Chestnut Hill Colleg-None. A-172