Rutherford, N.J. – (2/18/2010) – The long range shooting of junior guard Jessica Pruiti (Old Bridge, NJ ) and strong team defense was not enough to carry Chestnut Hill College past Felician College this evening as the Golden Falcons won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest by a 63-57 final. The Griffins owned a 28-26 first half advantage, but the aggressive play of senior forward Janelle Biamonte (Secaucus, N.J.) inspired the Golden Falcons' comeback victory.

Chestnut Hill College (4-20, 3-13) forced Felician College (14-9, 8-7) into 12 turnovers and Pruiti made three baskets from three-point territory, but the Golden Falcons still overcame the Griffins in the second half. After trailing 28-26 at halftime, the Golden Falcons slowly stole the momentum by controlling the boards (34-29) and getting to the free throw line (15-of-25, 60.0%). With 4:38 left in the contest the Golden Falcons built a 13-point advantage, 55-42, and Biamonte held off the Griffins' final assault with several clutch free throws in the final minutes (7-of-12, 58.0%). She scored 12 of her 15 points in the closing period and finished with a double-double (10 rebounds). Junior forward Quay Baskerville (Hartford, Conn.) and sophomore center Jessica Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) also reached double figures for Felician College. Baskerville scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Ford totaled 10 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Tierra Cleaves (Paterson, N.J.) directed the Golden Falcon offense with seven assists.

With all 12 of her points coming from beyond the arch, Pruiti finished as the high scorer for Chestnut Hill College. She was 4-of-9 (44.0%) from three-point range  while also collecting five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Freshman forward Lindsay Alexander (Huntingdon Valley, PA ) added eight points, eight rebounds, and four steals and was a compliment to Pruiti's second-half effort. Senior guard Carley Glass (Swedesboro, NJ ) provided four assists.

The women's basketball team will travel to Concordia College on Saturday, February 20, to continue their CACC schedule with a 1:00 p.m. contest.

FELICIAN COLLEGE 63, CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE 57

CHESTNUT HILL COLLEGE (4-20, 3-13 CACC)
PRUITI, Jessica 4-14 0-0 12; HARDY, Chanta'l 3-7 3-3 9; ALEXANDER, Lindsay 4-15 0-2 8; HERALD, Cecelia 3-7 0-0 6; STAYROOK, Ashlen 3-6 0-0 6; GLASS, Carley 2-2 0-0 6; LAING, Latoya 2-9 0-0 4; BECK, Jenna 1-1 0-0 2; SMITH, Aiesha 1-5 0-0 2; GLASS, Maryanne 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-69 3-5 57.

FELICIAN COLLEGE (15-9, 9-7 CACC)
BIAMONTE, Janelle 3-13 7-12 15; BASKERVILLE, Quay 5-10 1-3 12; FORD, Jessica 2-5 6-8 10; PASSALACQUA, Jacquel 3-5 0-0 9; GILMARTIN, Shannon 2-2 0-0 6; BARNETTE, Destiny 3-7 0-0 6; SIMMONDS, Tye 1-1 1-2 3; CLEAVES, Tierra 1-7 0-0 2; DeFALCO, Breanne 0-1 0-0 0; WYKE, Renelle 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 15-25 63.

Points by Half                                  1          2          F
Chestnut Hill College                    28        29        57
Felician College                            26        37        63

3-point goals--Chestnut Hill College 6-21 (PRUITI, Jessica 4-9; GLASS, Carley 2-2; ALEXANDER, Lindsay 0-4; LAING, Latoya 0-2; SMITH, Aiesha 0-2; GLASS, Maryanne 0-1; HARDY, Chanta'l 0-1), Felician 8-23 (PASSALACQUA, Jacquel 3-5; BIAMONTE, Janelle 2-9; GILMARTIN, Shannon 2-2; BASKERVILLE, Quay 1-3; CLEAVES, Tierra 0-1; WYKE, Renelle 0-1; BARNETTE, Destiny 0-2). Fouled out--Chestnut Hill College-None, Felician-None. Rebounds—Chestnut Hill College 39 (ALEXANDER, Lindsay 8), Felician 44 (BIAMONTE, Janelle 10). Assists--Chestnut Hill College 15 (PRUITI, Jessica 5), Felician 14 (CLEAVES, Tierra 7). Total fouls--Chestnut Hill College 19, Felician 6. Technical fouls--Chestnut Hill College-SMITH, Aiesha, Felician-None. A-121