Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. - (12/2/2015) – Home for the first time this season, it took Chestnut Hill College the first half to find their stride in this evening's Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) contest versus Georgian Court University. Forcing the Lions hand, the Griffins captured a 76-65 league win with a 14-point edge at the free throw line and 27 points from junior captain Brittany McDonough (Brooklyn, N.Y.) serving as the determining factors.
 
McDonough fed off her recent career performance, coming just a point shy of repeating it in tonight's triumphant home, and league, opener. Wasting no time, she scored 10 of Chestnut Hill College's (3-2, 1-0) first dozen points, pacing them to a 12-5 advantage with a three-point basket on the assist of freshman guard Mary Trossi (Somerset, N.J.) at 7:23 of the first quarter. Georgian Court University (0-7, 0-3) evened the spread by the end of the frame, 14-14, and held the edge for most of the second quarter. They surrendered the lead to Chestnut Hill College just past the four-minute mark (3:58), when a layup from Trossi put the Griffins in the driver's seat, 26-25. Still the Lions lingered just two points behind at halftime, 31-29.
 
Senior guard Alliyah Berger (Washington, DC) opened the second-half scoring with a three-point basket at 9:35 giving the Lions a 34-31 edge. Junior forward Caity Kuhnen (Binghamton, N.Y.) answered for the Griffins, scoring five consecutive points to trigger a 16-8 run that brought the home team to a 50-39 (3:53) lead over Georgian Court University. From there, the Griffins did not look back as a pair of turnovers and a couple of missed shots allowed Chestnut Hill College a series of easy buckets. They grew their lead to 10 points, 54-44, at the end of the third quarter and expanded it to as many as 16 points, 60-44, early in the fourth (8:49). That would be enough to withstand a late Lion push that cut the margin to five points, 64-59 (5:05), but quickly subsided in an 11-point Griffin victory, 76-65.
 
Berger led the Lions four Lions in double figures with 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a block, and two steals. Her effort was supported by freshman guard Jada Atchison (Burlington, N.J.), who supplied seven assists while recording six rebounds and making to steals in a 16-point performance. Her backcourt partner, sophomore guard Jaelyn Tweedy (Richmond, Va.) contributed 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and five steals. Serving as a long range threat (3-of-10, .300), sophomore guard Jess Placher (Cape Coral, Fla.) came off the bench for 11 points.

McDonough made 9-of-17 (.529) from the floor and 5-of-8 (.625) from the free throw line in her second straight 20-point performance. She also grabbed seven rebounds while recording four assists, a block, and three steals. In addition to scoring 10 points, Trossi raced down several long rebounds to total 13 in her first collegiate double-double. She also supplied seven assists at the point. Freshman forward Jaeda Wildgoose (Somerset, N.J.) was the third Griffin in double figures, finishing with 14 points while registering six rebounds, an assist, and two steals.
 
The Griffins return to the road for their next six contests; a series that begins with a 12:30 p.m. contest at Mercy College on Saturday, December 5.