The Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team opens the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Tournament as the CACC south Division Champions and hosting #4 seed from the North Caldwell University on Tuesday.
 

The Basics
CACC Tournament
Date:	March 1, 2022
Opponent:	#4N  Caldwell University
Location:	Philadelphia, Pa.
Time:	7:30 PM
Arena:	Sorgenti Arena
Chestnut Hill Info (23-5, 16-2 CACC)
Roster	Schedule	Statistics
Caldwell Info (13-14, 8-9 CACC)
Roster	Schedule	Statistics
Video/Livestats:	http://griffinathletics.com/coverage

The Series
The CACC quarterfinal game will be the 16^th meeting between the two teams and only the second time the two have met in the playoffs…the first being a loss in 2018.   The Griffins have won the last two meetings between the two teams including a 72-60 win at Caldwell earlier this season and a 57-46 win at home in 2020.  Caldwell does lead the all-time series, 13-2.

Conference Action
Chestnut Hill defeated USciences on Saturday 63-60 to capture their first ever CACC Division Championship with a 16-2 conference record, the best in program history.  Caldwell finished the season 8-9 in conference play to place fourth in the CACC north Division
 
 Griffins Move up to #2 in Latest NCAA East Region Rankings
Philadelphia, Pa - The Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team moved up to no. 2 in the latest NCAA Division II East Region rankings released on February 23.  The next and final ranking before the tournament bids are announced will be on March 2.  Chestnut Hill holds a 23-5 overall and in-region record following a 1-1 week  This ranking does not include Wednesday night's loss to Georgian Court or their win on Saturday vs. USciences

The Griffins won the  Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) South division title with a 15-2 conference record, defeating University of the Sciences (15-23, #6 in ranking).  Chestnut Hill has clinched one of the top seed in the CACC South and will host a conference playoff game on March 1.

One more ranking 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	20-5	19-4
2	Chestnut Hill	22-4	22-4
3	Le Moyne	16-5	16-4
4	Jefferson	20-6	20-6
5	Pace	19-6	19-6
6	University of the Sciences	19-3	17-2
7	Bentley	12-8	12-6
8	Stonehill	13-8	13-8
9	Saint Anselm	14-11	14-11
10	Daemen	16-4	15-3

 
About the Griffins
The Griffins enter Saturday's game with an 23-5 overall record and an 1-2 CACC record following their 62-55 loss to Georgian Court at home on Saturday. Chestnut Hill's 22-5 overall record is the most wins ever in a single season in program history.
Among the Griffins' active players, point guard Cassie Sebold  leads the team averaging 11.5 points per game.  She also leads the team with 140 assists (2^nd in CACC, 12^th in NCAA) and 32 steals.  Sebold is second on the team with 35 three-point field goals made on the season, while appearing in all but two games this season.  Cassie is shooting 85.3% from the free throw line (3^rd best mark in the CACC) and has two double doubles on the season.

Freshman Emily Chmiel  leads the team with 11 double-doubles (2^nd in CACC) and is averaging 11.4 points per game. Chmiel is 2^nd  in the CACC in total blocks (46) and total rebounds (225) while ranking among the conference top eight in seven additional statistical categories, including blocks/game (3^rd, 1.6), and free throws made (8^th, 71). Chmiel is third on the team with 22 steals has earned CACC Rookie of the Week honors six 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 12 of the Griffins last 15 games.  Hewlett is averaging 9.0 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game.  She notched her third consecutive double-double on February 15 against Jefferson, scoring a career-high 24 points (9-15 FG, 5-7 3FG) while grabbing 11 rebounds, giving her five double-doubles on the season.  Twice the senior forward has grabbed 16 rebounds in a game, the last in a loss at Dominican on 2/9.  Hewlett's five double-doubles are second only to Chmiel who leads the team with 11. She has earned CACC Weekly honor roll accolades four times this season including three of the last four weeks.
 
Lauren Crim is one of six players to appear in every game this season and has started 27 of the 28 games played.  She leads the team with 51 three-point field goals (4^th in the CACC) and has made a three-pointer in each of the Griffins last ten games. She is averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc (10^th in the CACC)   Crim also ranks among the top five in the CACC in assist/turnover ratio with a mark of 1.7
 
Lindsey Lane has started all 28 games and is shooting 43.3% from the field while averaging 6.2 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.  Lane has made a season-high six field goals against Felician and repeated the mark in CHC's next game at Georgian Court. Lindsey had a career-high 15 points vs. Felician.  Abbey Spratt is the second Griffin to have started all 28 games and has been the backcourt defensive stalwart usually guarding one of the opponent's better players. Spratt is third on the team with 44 assists.
 
Kaitlyn Carter has appeared in all 28 games, starting four.  She is second on the team with 27 steals and 51 assists while averaging 3.6 points/game.  She had a career-high five assists at Jefferson on February 15 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 12 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. -  Lauren Crim sank a three-point basket with five seconds remaining to give the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team a 63-60 win over University of the Sciences and their first ever Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference division championship Saturday afternoon at USciences' Bobby Morgan Arena.

The win gives the Griffins a final regular season conference record of 16-2 and their first ever CACC South Division Championship.  Chestnut Hill is now 24-4 overall.  USciences finishes in second place in the division with a 15-3 conference record and a 20-4 overall mark.  The 16 conference wins is the most CACC wins in a season by the women's program.  The win also marks just the second time the Griffins have swept the season series from USciences (first was 2017-18)

The Griffins also secured the #1 overall seed in the upcoming CACC women's Basketball Championship Tournament and will host #4N Caldwell University on Tuesday, march 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Sorgenti Arena.

Crim's(Warrington, Pa.) three-point basket was her sixth of the game, equaling her season high.  The junior guard finished the game with 20 points ((7-10 FG, 6-7 3FG).  Freshman Emily Chmiel (Doylestown, Pa.) recorded her 11^th double-double of the season with 21 points (7-11 FG, 7-9 FT) and 10 rebounds, tying the school record for double-doubles in a season.  Senior Cassie Sebold (Willow Grove, Pa.) added eight points and a game-high six assists. Senior Bri Hewlett (North Wales, Pa.) grabbed nine rebounds while junior Lindsey Lane (Havertown, Pa.) added seven to go along with six points.

With the game tied in the final minutes, USciences had three chances to go ahead before Kaitlyn Carter (Philadelphia, Pa.) blocked Jess Huber's  (14 points) turnaround jump shot with 28 second left and Hewlett grabbed the rebound as Chestnut Hill quickly called timeout.  Bringing the ball upcourt, the Griffins ran the clock down to ten and called another timeout and then took the ball towards the baseline and called a third timeout with 7.5 seconds in order to be able to inbound along the baseline.  The inbound play got the ball to Crim who was wide open in the wing and sank the three-point shot with just five ticks on the clock.  The Devils got a shot off in the final seconds but it was off the mark as the Griffins hung on for the three-point win.

Leading up to the final second heroics was a series of back-and-forth runs by the two teams. The Griffins led by three heading into the fourth quarter, and scored the first six points to take a 50-41 lead with 7:41 remaining before the Devils countered with ten straight points to take a 51-50 lead with 4:36 left.  The lead changed hands three times over the next minute with Chestnut Hill grabbing a one-point lead on Morgan Sterner's (Northampton, Pa.) driving layup, 54-53.  Crim then put the Griffins up four, 57-53 following a USciences turnover.   The Devils again battled back, embarking on a 78-3 run  to tie the game at 60-60 with 1:36 left and took possession following a Griffins turnover with a chance to go ahead.  USciences had three chances on that possession to forge ahead before the Carter block set things up for the winning possession by the Griffins.

The game saw 13 lead changes and five ties throughout the 40 minutes of action.  USciences had opened the game with a 7-2 run with Huber scoring all seven points.  The Griffins finished the quarter on a 12-9 spurt to close within two 16-14. Crim's first three-point basket, two minutes into the second quarter gave the Griffins their first lead 21-19.  The lead changed hands six more times as the quarter progressed with the Griffins leading 31-30 at the half.

The third quarter was similar with the Devils leading no more than three at any one point and the Griffins no more than four at any given point with the team forging a three point lead on Chmiel's jumper in the paint with 13 seconds, 44-41 as the two teams headed into the final ten minutes of action.
 
Chmiel and Crim Earn CACC Women's Basketball Weekly Honors
Emily Chmiel earned CACC Rookie of the week for the sixth time this season and Lauren Crim as recognized by the conference for the second time in the final week that the conference will be choosing weekly awards.
 
Chmiel notched her 11^th double-double of the season, tying a school record for most double-doubles in a single season on Saturday with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the Griffins win over USciences.
 
Crim made the game winning three point basket against USciences, scoring a total of 20 points.  The junior guard made six three-point baskets to go over the 50 three-point field goals made mark for the third time in her career.
 
The complete list of weekly honors earned by the Chestnut Hill Women's Basketball players is as follows:
 

Week Ending 02/28	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of the Week
	Lauren Crim		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 02/20	Bri Hewlett		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 02/13	Bri Hewlett		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 02/06	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of the Week
	Cassie Sebold		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 01/30	Bri Hewlett		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 01/23	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of the Week
			CACC Defensive Player of the Week
			CACC Player of the Week
Week Ending 01/16	Kaitlyn Carter		CACC Defensive Player of the Week
	Bri Hewlett		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 01/09	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of the Week
			CACC Defensive Player of the Week
Week Ending 12/20	Lauren Crim		CACC Player of the Week
	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of the Week
Week Ending 12/5	Emily Chmiel		CACC Defensive Player of the Week
	Leah Miller		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/28	Leah Miller		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/21	Emily Chmiel		CACC Rookie of The Week
	Cassie Sebold		CACC Weekly Honor Roll
Week Ending 11/14	Leah Miller		CACC Weekly Honor Roll

 
Moving up the Ranks
Lauren Crim moved into 11^th place on the Griffins all-time scoring list last Wednesday with 888 points, passing Tara Walsh (879, 2004-08) She now has 908 for her career…Crim also recently moved up to third place on the Griffins' all-time three point field goals made list and now has 195 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 36 more points since then to give her 1,250 for her career,  needing 28 more points to pass Ruairi Sullivan (1,277 pts.; 1996-00) to move into second place on the Griffins' all-time list.
 
 

Griffins				Cougars
65.5		Pts/game		61.7
55.5		Pts allowed/game		62.4
39.1		FG%		37.9
35.1		FG% Defense		36.5
29.4		3PT FG %		30.8
75.2		FT %		74.9
43.4		Rebounds/game		39.5
35.0		Rebounds allowed/gm.		43.8
8.4		Rebound margin		-4.3
15.3		Assists/game		13.9
6.4		Steals/game		6.8
3.7		Blocks/game		3.5

 
 
Scouting the Cougars
Caldwell sports a 13-14 overall record and a 7-5 mark in conference play.  
Casey O'Shaughnessy is averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 40.6% from the field and a league best 86.7% from the free throw line.  She leads the team with 74 assists and 34 three-point field goals made. O'Shaughnessy's 28 steals are second on the Cougar squad.
Paula Dits is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.6 per game.  She is also scoring in double figures with a 12.3 points per game average.  She is shooting 40.0% from the field and has made 29 of 31 attempts from the free throw line.
Rebecca Morrison is averaging 9.8 points per game and is the team's second leading rebounder at 5.4 per game.  Morrison is second on the team with 20 blocked shots.
Shanice Graves has played in all 26 games, starting 16 and is averaging 7.1 points per game.  Graves is second on the team with 66 assists.  Halle Brown has played in 20 games, starting 12 and is scoring at a rate of 6.5 points per game. Saundra Cleckley has started 21 of 22 games played and leads the team with 35 blocked shots.


Last Time Out for Caldwell
BLOOMFIELD, N.J.- Caldwell University women's basketball senior Paula Dits netted 19 points to lead the Cougars past Bloomfield College 64-59 in their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season finale. The Cougars secured fourth place in the North Division and advance to the CACC Championship Quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
 
The Cougars improve to 13-14 overall and 8-9 in the CACC, while the Bears end their season at 5-20 overall and 3-14 in conference play.
 
Caldwell jumped out to a 31-20 lead early in the second quarter. Junior Halle Brown, junior Rebecca Morrison, graduate Shanice Graves and Dits drained three-pointers to help the Cougars build a double-digit lead.
 
Bloomfield rallied back to close the gap to 35-31 with 3:43 left in the first half. Caldwell scored the final eight points of the half to pull ahead 43-31 at halftime.
 
The Cougars ballooned their lead to as much at 14 points at 47-33 early in the third quarter. Bloomfield cut the score to 52-50 at the 9:46 mark of the fourth quarter. Graves answered with a triple as part of an 8-2 rally to extend their lead to 60-52 at the midway point of the fourth quarter. The Cougars outpaced Bloomfield down the stretch.
 
Dits led the way with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Morrison finished with 16 points, three boards and two assists, while Graves added 14 points and seven rebounds. Brown totaled eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while graduate Saundra Cleckley grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds.