Leah Miller and Emily Chmiel combined for 42 points as the Chestnut Hill women's basketball team won their home opener, defeating Goldey-Beacom College 77-57 Saturday afternoon at Sorgenti Arena in Philadelphia.
 
The Griffins improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games with the win.  The Lightning fall to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.
 
Miller made her first ten shots from the field before finishing the game making 10 of 12 shots from the field for a game-high 24 points. Chmiel came off the bench and made six of nine shots from the field and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line for 18 points.  Miller also grabbed 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season while Chmiel added 11 to record her second double-double.   Cassie Sebold added nine points and dished out a game high seven assists.
 
Goldey-Beacom scored the first four points of the game to take an early lead which lasted until Miller hit a layup at the 6:43 mark, part of a 9-2 Griffin run, which included a three-point basket from senior Abbey Spratt.  GBC's Briana Seltzer (16 points) tied the game at nine midway through the quarter when Chestnut Hill took over on offense, producing an 8-2 run, with Lauren Crim making two-three-point shots and Miller a layup to lead 17-11. The Griffins pushed the lead to six by quarters end.
 
The CHC lead doubled to 12 just 90 seconds into the second quarter with a 7-1 run, 28-16.  Miller added a layup a minute later to give the Griffins their biggest lead of the quarter at 30-16.  Goldey-Beacom battled back with a 9-0 spurt to close within five 30-25 before a layup and two free throws from Morgan Orloski and another pair of free throws from Chmiel increased the lead back to double-digits.36-25.  The Lightning got no closer than eight by the end of the half as the Griffins held a 42-34 lead at the break.

Chestnut Hill outscored Goldey-Beacom 23-14 in the third quarter to put themselves firmly in control with a 65-48 lead heading into the final period.  Morgan Sterner opened the scoring in the fourth with a three-point basket, increasing the lead to 20, 68-48.  Two minutes later the freshman guard drained her second three-ball and the Griffins had their largest lead of the day a 75-51.  Brianna Rider's basket with 5:20 left gave the Griffins their final points of the day.  The Lightning got their last field 16 seconds later and added a free throw with four minutes left to round out the scoring
 
For the game, the Griffins shot 50% (28-56) including a 60% effort (6-10) from three-point range.  The Lighting shot 42.6% (23-54) and were 4-for-12 from beyond the arc.  Chestnut Hill made 15 of 16 shots from the line (93.8%) and outrebounded the Lightning 40-23.
 
Seltzer led the Lightning with 16 points while Alexis Harrison added 12   Janiya led the team with four rebounds while Mone Izumi had four assists.
 
The Chestnut Hill Women's Basketball Team is back in action on Sunday, December 5, 2021 when they host St., Thomas Aquinas in a non-league game.  Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.