Philadelphia, PA – (1/28/2010) – After an opening exchange of baskets, Chestnut Hill College led Georgian Court University for the remainder of tonight's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest as they defeated the visitors by a 56-54 final. Senior forward Chanta'l Hardy (Philadelphia, PA )scored 17 points to lead the Griffins to a ten-point halftime lead and their first win over the Lions.

With 2:35 remaining in the contest, a three-point basket from junior guard Lauren Staats (Dunellen, N.J.) brought Georgian Court University (5-12, 3-7) within one point of Chestnut Hill College (2-14, 1-7), 50-49. The conference rivals then traded turnovers before freshman forward Lindsay Alexander (Huntingdon Valley, PA ) gave the Griffins a three-point lead, 52-49, with a layup at 1:18. The Lions looked to tie the affair on their following possessions, but the Griffin defense forced Georgian Court University into bad shots and an eventual turnover as senior guard Carley Glass (Swedesboro, NJ )put the contest out of reach with four late free throws. Freshman guard Shawna Wert (Sewell, N.J.) finished as the leading scorer for the Lions totaling 14 points. Staats provided 13 points, while freshman forward Shaniqua Bacote (Paterson, N.J.) contributed nine points, ten rebounds, three steals, and a block.

The Griffins gained a 26-16 halftime lead by out-shooting the Lions 34.5%-20.8% in the opening period. Chestnut Hill College shared the ball with Hardy and Alexander leading them to the break. The Lions clawed their way back with a 48.3% (14-of-29) shooting performance in the second half, but it was not enough to catch the Griffins by the final buzzer. Hardy came off the bench for her 17 points, while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Alexander finished with 13 points and Glass provided five assists from the point.

The women's basketball team welcomes Nyack College to campus for their next CACC contest; a 1:00 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, January 30.

CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE 56, GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY 54

GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY (5-12, 3-7 CACC)
WERT, Shawna 6-14 0-0 14; STAATS, Lauren 4-10 2-2 13; BACOTE, Shaniqua 2-8 5-6 9; VARLEY, Dee 2-6 1-2 5; WERT, Dana 2-5 0-1 4; JOHNSON, Kandace 1-1 2-4 4; WHITE, Christina 1-6 1-3 3; MAUVAIS, Marley-Anne 1-3 0-0 2; BROWN, Tifanni 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 19-53 11-19 54.

CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE (3-15, 2-8 CACC)

HARDY, Chanta'l 5-12 6-8 17; ALEXANDER, Lindsay 4-11 4-6 13; GLASS, Carley 1-5 4-4 6; PRUITI, Jessica 3-10 0-1 6; BECK, Jenna 3-7 0-1 6; SMITH, Aiesha 2-5 0-0 4; STAYROOK, Ashlen 0-3 2-2 2; GLASS, Maryanne 1-1 0-0 2; YACAB, Davina 0-0 0-0 0; LAING, Latoya 0-1 0-2 0; BOYER, Yelissa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 16-24 56.

Points by Half                        1         2          F
Georgian Court University       16       38        54

Chestnut Hill College                26       30        56

3-point goals--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY 5-14 (STAATS, Lauren 3-7; WERT, Shawna 2-7), Chestnut Hill College 2-7 (HARDY, Chanta'l 1-1; ALEXANDER, Lindsay 1-1; PRUITI, Jessica 0-2; SMITH, Aiesha 0-1; GLASS, Carley 0-2). Fouled out--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY-None, Chestnut Hill College-STAYROOK, Ashlen. Rebounds--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY 43 (BACOTE, Shaniqua 10), Chestnut Hill College 37 (HARDY, Chanta'l 8). Assists--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY 11 (WERT, Dana 4), Chestnut Hill College 10 (GLASS, Carley 5).Total fouls--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY 20, Chestnut Hill College 22. Technical fouls--GEORGIAN COURT UNIVERSITY-None, Chestnut Hill College-None. A-77