Rockville Centre, N.Y. – (11/11/2018) – In day two of the
East Region Conference Challenge, Chestnut Hill College went toe-to-toe in a physical contest against Molloy College. Both teams paired off evenly in the first half of play with the Lions barely getting the best of the Griffins (30-23). The second half pressure wore on the Scarlet and Gold resulting in the 69-54 loss. Freshman
guard
Lauren Crim (Warrington, Pa.)
was one shy of tying a program record in three-pointers (6), pacing Chestnut Hill College with 20 points.
Molloy College (1-1) put on a harassing defensive pressure from the gate of the opening quarter that translated into an early 7-0 run. Chestnut Hill College (0-2) finally put points on the board at 5:15 and slowly chipped away closing the margin to two points, but the Lions eventually ended the period on top (14-11). The Griffins struggled in the paint in the first half due to the Lions strategy to slow down
senior forward Jaeda Wildgoose (Somerset, N.J.), insuring she had a scoreless half. The two teams continued to scrap it out in the second quarter, although Molloy College capitalized on their lead, the Griffins were not far behind ending the half 30-23.
The Scarlet and Gold turned it up a notch, aggressively attacking the basket and Crim knocking down her third three-pointer, which in-turn gave her team their first lead of the night (32-34, 5:13). Both teams battled it out exchanging points into a 40-40 (2:43) deadlock, until Molloy College switched gears going on a 6-0 run at 2:23, 46-40. With five-seconds left, senior guard
Mary Trossi (Somerset, N.J) created a last second fast-break opportunity that
freshman forward
Bri Hewlett (North Wales, Pa.) finished, going into the final quarter on a high, 46-42.
Crim's back-to-back three-pointers mid fourth quarter (7:52; 46-45, 6:45; 51-48) kept the Griffins afloat for a period of time. The turning point came at 6:45, where Molloy College applied intense pressure that left the Griffins at 48 points while they went on a 15-point run, 59-48. Chestnut Hill College struggled to record a bucket (scoring) and the deficit was far too much for them to claw back from, ending the contest 69-54.
Graduate guard Tyra Harrison (Baldwin, N.Y.) led Molloy College with 25 points, one assist, and one steal. She was followed by senior guard Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) who recorded ten points, six rebounds, 1 assist, and two steals, while seven other Lions logged single-digit figures in the win.
Crim went 6-of-12 from the three point line that aided in her 20-points (7-of-15, .466) performance. She also logged four rebounds and one assist. The second highest scorer for the Griffins was
sophomore guard Cassie Sebold (Willow Grove, Pa.) with seven points (7REB, 1STL). Trossi was not far behind and logged six-points, going 100% (4-of-4) from the free-throw line was included in her total. Trossi also came up with eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Junior forward
Shannon Glenn (Philadelphia, Pa.) (4), Wildgoose (2), sophomore guard
Kaitlin Dougherty (Philadelphia, Pa.) (2), freshman guard
Abbey Spratt (Doylestown, Pa.), and freshman guard
Morgan Orloski (Bethlehem, Pa.) (3Pa.) (5), Hewlett's (5), added efforts were not enough to defeat the Lions.
The Griffins stay on the road for the next non-conference contest at Millersville University on Wednesday, November 14, at 5:30 p.m.
