A fourth quarter comeback fell short as the University of the District of Columbia spoiled the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team's home opener with a 64-60 win at Sorgenti Arena Wednesday night.
 
The Griffins drop to 1-2 with the loss while the Firebirds move to 3-0.

Chestnut Hill got 19 points and eight rebounds from Emily Sekerak and 12 from Bridie McCann.    Kaitlyn Carter grabbed 11 rebounds to lead all players. Avery White led the team with five assists while Caleigh Edwards added four and contributed nine points.  Sekerak also had three blocks.

UDC's Tori Williams led all players with 26 points while Destiny Ryles added 13.  Alyanna Ellis had ten rebounds while Nia Ford and Tania Hill had three assists apiece.  Hill also contributed four blocks.

Williams sank a three-point basket from beyond half court as the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter, giving the Firebirds a 42-35 lead.  UDC extended it to nine 48-39 with 7:45 remaining before the Griffins started to rally.  Still trailing by eight, Edwards sank a three-point basket with 4:44 left to cut the deficit to five.  Free throws from Sekerak and McCann then pulled the Griffins within one 52-51 with 3:32 left.  Four Firebird free throws pushed the lead to 56-52 before Sekerak's short jumper cut the lead to two 56-54 with 2:15 left.  Chestnut Hill's offense could not convert in the final 90 seconds save for a basket from Edwards, cutting the lead to three 61-58 with 13 seconds left.  The Griffins, trailing by as many as five in the final minute had to foul and the Firebirds converted eight of ten free throws in the final 1:04 to seal the win.

One quarter earlier the Griffins took their first lead of the game when McCann opened the third quarter with a three point shot and White followed with a basket to put Chestnut Hill ahead 32-28.  McCann added another three-ball at the 4:40 mark to break a 32-32 tie at the 4:35 mark.  UDC finished the quarter on a 10-0 run capped by the Williams buzzer beater.

The Firebirds led by 12 after one quarter, 19-7.  In the second quarter, Sekerak scored ten of the Griffins' 20 points as CHC pulled within one at halftime, 28-27.

Neither team shot the ball exceptionally well during the game with the Griffins shooting 30.6% (19-62) from the field and the Firebirds just 26.5% (18-68).  UDC made 23 of 33 free throws, outscoring the Griffins by five (18-22) and made one more three point shot.   Chestnut Hill had a slight 49-48 rebound advantage but lost the ball control battle, turning it over 21 times to UDC's 14.

The women's basketball team returns to action with a game at Bloomsburg University on Saturday, November 18, 2023.  Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m.