The Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team returns home to host Wilmington University seeking their 22
nd win and solidify their position at the top of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division.
The Series
Saturday's contest will be the 28
th meeting and second this season between Wilmington and Chestnut Hill. The Griffins won the first contest 62-36 at Wilmington. The Griffins hold a 15-12 lead in the all-time series which dates back to the 2007-08 season. Chestnut Hill is 7-6 lifetime against the Wildcats at Sorgenti Arena and has won five of the last seven games played on their home court.
Conference Action
Chestnut Hill currently sits in first place in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South Division with an 14-1 conference record following their 65-60 win at Jefferson University on Tuesday. The team is one game ahead of second place USciences and three games ahead of third place Jefferson with three more conference games to play. The Griffins became the first team in the CACC to clinch a playoff berth with their win over Bloomfield on Saturday, February 5. Wilmington is 1-13 in CACC games and sits in seventh place in the CACC South Division.
First Round of CACC Playoffs will be at Home
With their 65-60 win at Jefferson last night, the Griffins have secured a home playoff contest for the first round on the CACC Tournament which begins on March 1. Jefferson, who currently sits in third place is three games behind with three to place and the best the Rams could do is tie the Griffins but the Chestnut Hill holds the tiebreaker, having swept the season series. The Griffins opponent for the March 1 contest is yet to be determined as is whether or not they are a #1 or #2 seed.
Griffins #3 in First NCAA East Region Rankings
Philadelphia, Pa - The Chestnut Hill College women's basketball team was ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II East Region in the first regional rankings released on Wednesday. Chestnut Hill holds a 21-4 overall and in-region record following Tuesday night's win over Jefferson (not included in the first ranking)
This week's ranking marks the first time that a Chestnut Hill team has appeared in an NCAA Region Ranking.
Two more rankings will be released before the 64-team tournament field is announcement on March 6. The next ranking will be released next Wednesday.
Eight teams will make the NCAA East Region Tournament held March 11-14. Three automatic bids will be awarded to the three conference tournament champions (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, Northeast-10 Conference and East Coast Conference) and five teams will receive at-large berths based on the rankings.
| EAST REGION |
|
|
|
|
| Rank |
School |
Overall
DII Record |
In-Region
Record |
| 1 |
Southern New Hampshire |
17-5 |
16-4 |
| 2 |
Pace |
19-5 |
19-5 |
| 3 |
Chestnut Hill |
20-4 |
20-4 |
| 4 |
Jefferson |
19-5 |
19-5 |
| 5 |
Le Moyne |
15-4 |
15-3 |
| 6 |
Bentley |
11-6 |
11-4 |
| 7 |
University of the Sciences |
17-3 |
15-2 |
| 8 |
Daemen |
15-3 |
14-2 |
| 9 |
Stonehill |
10-7 |
10-7 |
| 10 |
Saint Anselm |
12-11 |
12-11 |
About the Griffins
The Griffins enter Tuesday's game with an 21-4 overall record and an 14-1 CACC record following their 65-60 win at Jefferson University. Chestnut Hill's 21-4 overall record is the most wins ever in a single season in program history.
Among the Griffins' active players, Point guard
Cassie Sebold leads them team averaging 12.1 points per game. She also leads the team with 127 assists (2
nd in CACC, 10
th in NCAA) and 29 steals. Sebold is second on the team with 33 three-point field goals made on the season, while appearing in all but two games this season. Cassie is shooting 84.2% from the free throw line (2
nd best mark in the CACC) and has two double doubles on the season.
Freshman
Emily Chmiel leads the team with ten double-doubles (2
nd in CACC) and is averaging 11.7 points per game. Chmiel leads the CACC in total blocks (41) and is 2
nd in total rebounds (203) while ranking among the conference top eight in eight additional statistical categories, including blocks/game (4
th, 1.7), free throws made (8
th, 62), and rebounds/game (5
th, 8.1). Chmiel is third on the team with 20 steals. Emily earned CACC Rookie of the Week honors for her performance during the week ending 2/6 and now has earned CACC Rookie of the Week honors five times while also being named CACC Defensive Player of the Week three and CACC player of the Week once
Bri Hewlett moved into a starting role on 12/8 and has scored in double figures in 11 of the Griffins last 12 games. Hewlett is averaging 9.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. She notched her third consecutive double-double on Tuesday against Jefferson, scoring a career-high 24 points (9-15 FG, 5-7 3FG) while grabbing 11 rebounds. Twice the senior forward has grabbed 16 rebounds in a game, the last in a loss at Dominican on 2/9. Hewlett has five double-doubles on the season, second onlt to Chmiel who leads the team with 10. She has earned CACC Weekly honor roll accolades three times this season, most recently on Feb. 14.
Lauren Crim is one of three players to start every game this season and leads the team with 42 three-point field goals and has made a three-pointer in each of the Griffins last seven games. She is averaging 8.0 points per game. Crim is also shooting 83.0% from the free throw line and ranks among the top five in the CACC in assist/turnover ratio with a mark of 1.75
Lindsey Lane has also started all 25 games and is shooting 44.4% from the field while averaging 5.9 points per game. Lane has made a season-high six field goals against Georgian Court and Felician and had a career-high 15 points vs. Felician.
Abbey Spratt is the third Griffin to have started all 25 games and has been the backcourt defensive stalwart usually guarding one of the opponent's better players. Spratt is third on the team with 41 assists.
Kaitlyn Carter has appeared in all 25 games, starting four. She is second on the team with 24 steals and 47 assists and is averaging 3.6 points/game. She had a career-high five assists at Jefferson on Tuesday and had a career-high 16 points in the Griffins' win over Jefferson on Jan. 13. The sophomore guard has also been a stalwart on defense effectively shutting down a top offensive player on the opposing team in each of the last 11 games. Her efforts earned her CACC Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending January 16 when she held the league's leading scorer without a basket in CHC's win at Georgian Court.
Last Time Out
Philadelphia, Pa. - Bri Hewlett scored a career high 24 points and notched her third straight double-double with 11 rebounds as the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team clinched a home playoff berth with a 65-60 win over neighboring Jefferson University
The Griffins improve to 21-4 overall and 14-1 in Central Atlantic Collegiate conference games Jefferson drops to 19-6 overall and 11-4 in league play. The win also marks the first time in program history that the Griffins have swept the season series from the Rams.
Hewlett connected on nine of 15 shots from the field including a 5-for-7 effort from beyond the arc. In addition to her 11 rebounds (9 defensive), Hewlett added three assists.
Cassie Sebold added 17 points (5-11 FG, 5-6 FT) and had three assists and four steals.
Lindsey Lane added ten points, five rebounds and two blocks
. Emily Sekerak had seven rebounds, six of them in the fourth quarter and a key block in the final minute to help secure the win.
Kaitlyn Carter led the team with five assists.
Jefferson jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The Griffins battled right back with a 12-2 run to take an 14-10 lead midway through the quarter. Three-point baskets from Hewlett and Sebold highlighted the run. After the Rams rallied to tie the score at 16-16, Chestnut Hill ran off nine straight points to open up a 25-16 lead as the quarter was winding down. Cassie Murphy (team high 15 points) added a basket for Jefferson at the buzzer to cut the Griffins lead to 25-18.
The Rams scored the first seven points of the second quarter tie the game at 25-25.
Emily Chmiel stopped the run with a 12-foot jumper from the left side. Hewlett followed with a three-point basket and the Griffins again led by 30-25. Hewlett later added a layup and Sebold a three-point basket but the Rams were able to shave two points off the lead as the Griffins headed to the locker room at halftime ahead 35-32.
Jefferson opened the third quarter with a 7-3 run to take a 39-38 lead. Lane gave the lead back to the Griffins with a jumper starting a 6-0 run to put the Griffins back on top 44-39. Jefferson again stormed back to take a 46-45 lead with 2:30 left in the period. Six straight points by the Chestnut Hill returned the lead to the Griffins before Jefferson's Morgan Robinson (ten points) sank two free throws with .4 left on the clock to close the gap as the Griffins held a 51-48 lead heading into the final quarter.
Hewlett's three-ball to open the fourth quarter increased the Griffin's lead to sic 54-48 and later increased the margin to eight 58-50 before three straight baskets by the Rams cut the lead in to two 58-56. Lanes basket at 2:10 pushed the Griffins lead back to four 60-56 with 2:17 left. Sebold added two free throws with 48 seconds to push the lead back up to six 62-56. Morgan Robinson added two free throws for the Rams to bring Jefferson within four 62-58 and Sam Yencha (14 points) added a layup to make it a two point game with 35.8 seconds left, 62-60.
Lauren Crim then pushed the lead back to four with two free throws 64-60 with 29.4 left. Sekerak then came up big on defense, with a block on Jefferson's leading scorer Murphy and a subsequent defensive rebound. Sebold rounded out the scoring with a free throw to give the Griffins the 65-60 win.
Hewlett Named to the CACC Women's Basketball Weekly Honor Roll
Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball player
Bri Hewlett has been named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in last week's games.
This marks the third time that Hewlett has been recognized by the conference having been named to the weekly honor roll twice previously (February 1 and January 16)
Hewlett recorded double-doubles in both games this week for the Griffins as the team went 1-1 for the week. The senior forward averaged 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds along with 2.5 assists per game.
Opening the week at Dominican College Hewlett scored 14 points while tying her career high with 16 rebounds. She shot 42.9% (6-14) from the field and added one assist as the Griffins fell in overtime 79-70.
Hewlett followed up with a 15-point ten rebound effort against Caldwell as the Griffins bounced back to win their program record 20
th game, 72-60 over the Cougars. Hewlett shot 60% (6-10) from the field while also dishing out four assists and recording three steals.
For the week, Hewlett scored 29 points and grabbed 26 rebounds (22 defensive) while shooting 50%(12-24) from the field. She also recorded a total of five assists and three steals.
The complete list of weekly honors earned by the Chestnut Hill Women's Basketball players is as follows:
Moving up the Ranks
Lauren Crim moved into 13
th place on the Griffins all-time scoring list on Tuesday with 872 points, passing Jessica Pruitti (865, 2007-11)…Crim needs eight more points to move up to 11
th on the Griffins all-time list…Crim moved up to third place on the Griffins' all-time three point field goals made list and now has 183 for her career, passing Vicky Tumasz (180 , 2016-18)…
Cassie Sebold became just the third Griffins women's basketball player to score 1,200 or more points with her 18-point effort vs. Caldwell. She added 17 more points against Jefferson to give her 1,231 for her career needing 48 more points to pass Ruairi Sullivan (1,277 pts.; 1996-00) to move into second place on the Griffins' all-time list.
Griffins and Wildcats Comparison
| Griffins |
|
|
|
Wildcats |
| 65.9 |
|
Pts/game |
|
47.8 |
| 55.4 |
|
Pts allowed/game |
|
70.1 |
| 39.3 |
|
FG% |
|
35.4 |
| 34.8 |
|
FG% Defense |
|
41.7 |
| 29.0 |
|
3PT FG % |
|
12.1 |
| 76.8 |
|
FT % |
|
33.7 |
| 44.0 |
|
Rebounds/game |
|
39.4 |
| 34.5 |
|
Rebounds allowed/gm. |
|
38.6 |
| 9.5 |
|
Rebound margin |
|
0.8 |
| 15.4 |
|
Assists/game |
|
9.5 |
| 6.4 |
|
Steals/game |
|
6.2 |
| 3.8 |
|
Blocks/game |
|
2.7 |
Scouting the Wildcats
Wilmington is 1-18 overall and 1-13 in league play sitting in seventh place in the CACC south
Sabreen Muslim leads the Griffins, averaging 13.5 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game. Muslim also leads the team with 22 steals and is shooting 43.7% from the field.
Kiara Eubanks is averaging 9.1 points per game while Emily Ansah is averaging 8.2 and is also shooting 43.7% from the field. Ansah is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 7.8 per game and leads the team with 20 blocks
Jade Roberts leads the team with 34 assists.
Last Time Out for Wilmington
NEWARK, Del. - - Sabreen Muslim was honored prior to the game and then put up a game high 21 points on Senior Night, but it wasn't enough as Georgian Court took the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest, 77-45, from the Wilmington University women's basketball team on Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
Georgian Court shot 45.3 percent from the floor in the game, outscoring the Wildcats, 48-22, in the paint while leading wire-to-wire. The Wildcats used 15 offensive rebounds to score 12 second chance points in the game, but shot 27.9 percent from the floor for the game.
The Lions (10-11, 7-7 CACC) stormed out of the gates and scored the first 10 points of the game. Muslim put in a second chance bucket to cut the deficit to six but the Lions scored the final bucket of the quarter to lead 14-6 after the first 10 minutes.
Georgian Court separated itself in the second quarter, winning the frame, 25-11, to extend their lead out to 39-17 at the halftime break. Muslim scored eight of the Wildcats' 11 points in the second quarter, giving her a game high 12 points at the halftime break.
The Lions' best quarter was the third quarter, shooting 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the floor, including 2-of-3 from three-point range to win the quarter, 26-12, and lead by 36 points heading into the final frame.
Georgian Court took their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter, 72-29, with 8:24 left in the game. The Wildcats won the fourth quarter however, 16-12. Muslim scored six points while
Emily Ansah had four points and three rebounds in the quarter as well.
Emily Ansah had a pair of blocks in the game while Layla Hunt had the third block for the Wildcats.Hunt scrapped for seven rebounds in the game while Ansah scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds to assist Muslim's 21 points in the game.
