The Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team begins a four-game homestand on Thursday when they face the first of three regionally ranked teams all within the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Thursday's opponent will be Thomas Jefferson University.
The Series
Thursday's game will be the 27
th meeting between the two teams. The series dates back to the 2007-08 season when the Griffins became members of the Central Atlantic collegiate conference (CACC) and NCAA Division II. Jefferson, then Philadelphia University won the first 15 contests played and holds a 23-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Griffins last win came at Jefferson's Gallagher Center on January 21, 2020 as they defeated the Rams 76-72. Chestnut Hill's last win at Sorgenti was on Feb. 10, 2015, when they handed the Rams an 82-73 loss.
Conference Action
Chestnut Hill is off to its best start in conference play since becoming a member of the CACC in 2007-08, opening with five conference wins and are sitting alone in first place in the CACC South Division. The Griffins have held conference opponents to just 51.0 points per game in the four wins. Jefferson enters Thursday's game with a 4-1 record and tied for second place in the CACC South division behind Chestnut Hill after upsetting the top ranked team in the region USciences on Tuesday.
About the Griffins
The Griffins enter Thursday's game with a 11-3 record following a 53-42 win at Georgian Court University on Tuesday. Chestnut Hill's 11-3 start to the season and 5-0 conference record is their best record to start a season since joining the NCAA in 1996.
Among the Griffins' active players,
Emily Chmiel leads the team with six double-doubles (2
nd in the CACC and is averaging 12.8 points per game. Chmiel ranks among the conference top five in five different statistical categories, including blocks (2
nd, 20); total rebounds (2
nd, 128) and rebounds/game (3
rd, 9.1). Chmiel is third on the team with 16 steals. She has appeared in all 14 games and is the only player in the CACC that is shooting 50% or better from the field AND 75% or better from the free throw line.
Point guard
Cassie Sebold returned to action after missing two games. She is averaging 12.3 points per game and leads the team with 68 assists (2
nd in CACC, 9
th in NCAA) and tied for the team lead with 18 steals. Sebold is second on the team with 14 three-point field goals made on the season, while appearing in 12 of 14 games this season.
Lauren Crim made five 3 point field goals in last week's win over Wilmington to take over the team lead with 18. She is averaging 6.2 points per game and has the best assist/turnover ratio in the conference at 2.3.
Morgan Orloski is third in the CACC with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0. Orloski is also shooting 34.8% from beyond the three-point arc, and 43.2% from the field overall.
Bri Hewlett has started the last six games and has been a solid contributor all season long. Hewlett is averaging 5.4 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. She had a season-high eight rebounds and five field goals in the Griffins last game on Tuesday at Georgian Court.
Lindsey Lane has started all 14 games and is shooting a solid 47.4% from the field while averaging 4.6 points per game. Lane has made a season-high six field goals in each of the Griffins' last two games.
Kaitlyn Carter has also appeared in all 14 games, starting the last three. She has eight steals in Chestnut Hill's last three games and is tied for the team lead with 18. She had a season high 11 points vs. Felician last Saturday.
Missing is
Leah Miller's 16 points and 10 rebounds per game average. Miller was among the conference leaders in both categories before an injury cut short her season after eight games.
Last Time Out
Lakewood, N.J. - The Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team continued their winning ways Tuesday afternoon, jumping out to an early lead and pulled away in the second half to defeat Georgian Court University 53-42 at the GCU Wellness Center in Lakewood, New Jersey.
The win was the Griffins fifth straight as they improved to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. The Lions fall to 5-9 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Leading the way for the Griffins were
Lindsey Lane (Havertown, Pa.) and
Bri Hewlett (North Wales, Pa.). Lane and Hewlett scored 13 points apiece and combined for 14 rebounds (Hewlett 8, Lane 6).
Lauren Crim (Warrington, Pa.) added 11 points (nine in the second half) to join Hewlett and Lane in double figures.
Emily Chmiel (Doylestown, Pa.) grabbed seven rebounds and had three blocks and a steal while
Kaitlyn Carter (Philadelphia, Pa.) had two steals and two blocks.
Abbey Spratt (Doylestown, Pa.) grabbed six rebounds to go along with two assists and two blocks.
Cassie Sebold (Willow Grove, Pa.) came off the bench to score seven points and had a team-high three assists.
Defensively the Griffins held the Lions to just 29.5% shooting from the field and kept Georgian Court away from the free throw line completely (0-0) and for the fourth time this season held an opponent to 45 points or less. Carter was given the task of guarding the conference's leading scorer Anyssa Fields who entered the game averaging 21.3 points per game and held the GCU sophomore scoreless when the two were on the court at the same time. (Fields finished with the game with three points).
Lane scored the game's first four points as the Griffins jumped out to an 11-0 lead, holding the Lions to an 0-14 effort from the field over the first 9:21 of the period before the Lions finally got on the board on a jumper from Nerea Brajic (9 points). Chmiel's basket gave the griffins a 13-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter belonged to the Lions who used an 18-5 run to pull even at 20-20 with 3:34 left in the period. Hewlett broke the tie nearly two minutes later with a pair of free throws and added a basket at the 1:06 mark to round out the scoring in the half as the Griffins went into the locker room at the break, up 24-20.
Crim scored the Griffins first six points of the third quarter and started a 9-2 run as the Griffins again pushed the lead to double figures 37-27. Carter, Lane and Hewlett followed with baskets and Lane made the first of two at the free throw line to complete the run. Two free throws from Chmiel in the final minute pushed the lead to 1243-31 heading into the final quarter.
The Griffins maintained their double digit advantage for most of the fourth quarter as their lead oscillated between 10-12 points until the Lions cut the margin to eight 47-39 on a jumper by Andjela Kremenovic. Hewlett countered with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 11 50-39. Crim made three free throws in the final minute to seal the 11-point win.
Griffins Ranked in D2SIDA East Region Poll
The Chestnut Hill College Women's basketball team is ranked tenth in the latest D2SIDA East Region Basketball poll that was released Monday afternoon. The team was receiving votes in the last two weeks and moved up following a 2-0 week. Jefferson is also ranked in the region at #6. The complete poll is below:
| EAST |
| 1 |
University of the Sciences (5) |
9-1 |
58 |
1 |
| 2 |
Southern New Hampshire |
9-2 |
54 |
2 |
| 3 |
Bentley (1) |
7-3 |
48 |
4 |
| 4 |
Pace |
12-2 |
41 |
3 |
| 5 |
Le Moyne |
7-2 |
35 |
6 |
| 6 |
Jefferson |
10-3 |
32 |
5 |
| 7 |
Daemen |
5-3 |
23 |
7 |
| 8 |
Saint Anselm |
7-5 |
16 |
8 |
| 9 |
Post |
9-2 |
10 |
10 |
| 10 |
Chestnut Hill |
10-3 |
9 |
NR |
| RV: |
Assumption 2, Southern Connecticut State 2 |
|
|
Chmiel Named CACC Rookie and Defensive Player of the Week
Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball player
Emily Chmiel was named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Rookie and Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Griffins' games against Wilmington University and Felician University.
This week's honors mark the third time this season that Chmiel has earned conference Rookie of the Week honors and second time she was named Defensive Player of the Week.
Chmiel recorded double-doubles in both games last week, with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Wilmington and 13 points and 13 rebounds against Felician, giving her six double-doubles on the season. In addition, Chmiel recorded a career high five blocks and three steals against the Golden Falcons on Saturday. The five blocks are the most by a CACC women's basketball player this season.
For the week, Chmiel averaged 16 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 44.8% (13-29) from the field.
The Griffins have had at least one player earn conference honors in six of the first eight weeks of the 2021-22 season. The complete list is below.
Moving up the Ranks
In the Griffins' game against New Haven on December 19,
Cassie Sebold moved into 7
th place on the Griffins all-time scoring list, passing Joanne Sauer who scored 1082 points from 1978-82. Sebold needs 9 points to pass Olivia Gorczynski '15 (1,107 pts.) for sixth place on the all-time list.
Lauren Crim, with her five three-point field goals against Wilmington, moved into fourth place on the Griffin's all-time three-point field goals made list with 162 for her career, passing Beth Ann Castone who sank 158 over her four-year career. (Ruairi Sullivan, a 2014 Griffins Hall of Fame inductee who played for Chestnut Hill from 1996-2000 is the Griffin's all-time leader with 239.)
Griffins and Rams Comparison
| Griffins |
|
|
|
Rams |
| 63.1 |
|
Pts/game |
|
67.9 |
| 55.4 |
|
Pts allowed/game |
|
60.3 |
| 37.2 |
|
FG% |
|
42.0 |
| 36.0 |
|
FG% Defense |
|
37.3 |
| 26.6 |
|
3PT FG % |
|
27.3 |
| 76.8 |
|
FT % |
|
65.9 |
| 43.7 |
|
Rebounds/game |
|
40.3 |
| 34.8 |
|
Rebounds allowed/gm. |
|
40.1 |
| 8.9 |
|
Rebound margin |
|
0.2 |
| 14.5 |
|
Assists/game |
|
16.5 |
Scouting the Rams
Jefferson is ranked #6 in the most recent D2SIDA East Region Poll. The Rams are 11-3 overall and 4-1 in CACC games following a 52-45 win over the top ranked team in the region USciences. Jefferson has won seven of their last eight games with their only loss against Georgian Court University.
Cassie Murphy leads Jefferson, averaging 13.4 points per game while shooting 56.7% from the field (2
nd in the CACC). Murphy is the team's third leading rebounder, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game. Haley Meinel is the Rams' other double figure scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game. Meinel leads the team with 40 steals (2
nd in CACC), 12 blocks and is third on the team with 28 assists.
Morgan Robinson leads the CACC in assists (88) and assists/game (6.7) and ranks among the national leaders in both categories. Robinson averages 8.6 points per game and is second on the team averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. She is also shooting 49% from the field and is second on the team with 37 steals (3
rd in the CACC).
Leading the team in rebounding is Sam Yencha, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. Yencha is also averaging 6.9 points per game while shooting 42.4% from the field.
Last Time Out for Jefferson
PHILADELPHIA - The Thomas Jefferson University women's basketball team (11-3, 4-1 CACC) held #25/12 USciences to its lowest point total in nearly four years in a 52-45 victory at the nationally-ranked Devils on Tuesday evening.
Maeve McCann tied her career high with 13 points while Cassie Murphy added 12. Haley Meinel chipped in nine points. Murphy and Morgan Robinson had eight and seven rebounds respectively while Robinson led the team with five assists.
The two squads were tied at 14 in the second when Jefferson caught fire, reeling off six straight points for a 20-14 lead.
Meinel delivered four of the six points. Not to be outdone, the Devils rallied for seven in a row to take a one-point advantage (21-20). However, the Rams answered with a 9-0 run to take control, 29-21.
Murphy led the surge with five points. USciences hit a jump shot in the final seconds to make the score 29-23 at halftime. The Devils chipped away at the deficit throughout the third quarter and finally brought it to a 35-35 deadlock with 2:13 on the clock. Jefferson then responded once more, posting seven of the last nine points in the frame to carry a 42-37 lead to the fourth. Meinel poured in five of the seven points for the Rams.
USciences closed the gap to two (42-40) with 7:50 remaining in regulation. The teams then went over four minutes without a basket before McCann broke the drought with a bucket at 3:37 to up the Jefferson cushion to four (44-40). After a Devils' turnover, Murphy made two shots at the line to make it 46-40, starting a stretch run in which the Rams went just 6-for-12 at the line but forced USciences to shoot just 2-of-7 from the field as Jefferson pulled away for the win.
