Lauren Crim had the hot hand Saturday afternoon, leading four players in double figures as the Chestnut Hill women's basketball team held off a late charge from host University of New Haven to defeat the Chargers 66-61 at Charger Gymnasium in West Haven, Connecticut.

Crim (Warrington, Pa.) led all scorers with 22 points (7-13 FG, 6-11 3FG) as the Griffins (8-3) won for the first time ever at Chargers Gym.  Emily Chmiel (Doylestown, Pa.) came off the bench to record her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points (6-6 FT) and 11 rebounds.  Bri Hewlett (North Wales, Pa.) added 11 points while Cassie Sebold (Willow Grove, Pa.) chipped in ten (10-10 FT) while dishing out a game high seven assists.

Free throws were a key factor in the Griffins' win as they connected on 22 of 23 shots from the charity stripe (95.7%), including a perfect 15-15 in the fourth quarter (and 7-7 in the third).  That mark is the highest in program history in a game where the team took 20 or more free throws.  The Griffins also outrebounded the Chargers (5-6) 41-36, the ninth time in the last ten games the Chestnut Hill has out-rebounded their opponent.

The Griffins shot 50% in the first quarter with Crim making her first three three-point attempts but it was the Chargers who opened up an eight point lead late in the period, 22-14 before two baskets from Lindsey Lane (Havertown, Pa.) cut the margin to four in the final minute of the quarter.  UNH's Aurora DeShaies (14 pts., 11 reb.) added a basket before the quarter ended to give the Chargers a 24-18 lead heading into the second quarter.  Sebold had six of her game-high seven assists in the quarter.

Chestnut Hill outscored the Chargers 10-8 in the second quarter with Crim accounting for eight of the Griffins' ten points.  Her second three-ball of the period tied the game at 26-26 midway through but the Chargers scored the next six points to again lead by six.  Morgan Orloski's (Bethlehem, Pa.) layup in the final minute cut the UNH lead to four 32-28 as the teams headed into the locker room for halftime.

An 8-2 run to open the third quarter gave the griffins their first lead since midway through the first quarter, 36-34.  Sebold and Abbey Spratt (Doylestown, Pa.) each made a pair of free throws while Lane and Hewlett made layups.  Briana Van Cleaf put the Chargers back on top with a three-pointer with 6:27 left before Sebold added two more points from the charity stripe to change the lead back in the Griffin's favor.  A four-point play from Hewlett with 1:20 left in the quarter increased the lead to five, 45-40.  Both teams exchanged points in the final 35 seconds and the lead remained at five 47-42 leading into the final ten minutes of action.

Orloski's layup-and-one at the 8:22 mark gave the Griffins their biggest lead of the game at 52-44.  The CHC lead oscillated between four and six points four+ minutes until the Chargers cut the lead to two 56=54 with 3:09 left.  Free throws from Sebold and Chmiel pushed the lead back to six but the Chargers came back with a 7-2 run capped by a Van Cleaf three-ball to pull within one 62-61 with 23 seconds remaining.  Sebold the last of her ten free throws with 11 seconds left, putting the Griffins back up by three 64-61.  After a defensive stop, Crim iced the game with two free throws of her own with 0.5 left to make the final score 66-61.

Van Cleaf led the Chargers with 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds while DeShaies added 14 and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Camyrn DeBose chipped in 11 points,  Brie Pergola led the team with five assists.

The Chargers had the better shooting percentage from the field (37.5% (21-56)) while the Griffins made ust 18 of 56 shots (32.1%).  New Haven however was outscored 22-12 on the free throw line as the Chargers made 12 of 17 (70.6%).  The Griffins bench also outscored the Chargers, 15-8.

The Chestnut Hill women's Basketball team will break for the Christmas holiday and will return to action on Thursday, December 30, 2021 when they host Jefferson University in a matinee engagement at Sorgenti Arena.  Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.