Bridie McCann scored a career-high 25 points as the Chestnut Hill college women's basketball team won their fifth consecutive game, defeating Saint Thomas Aquinas college 64-52 Thursday night at Sorgenti Arena.
The Griffins improve to 9-5 with the win. The Spartans fall to 7-7
McCann connected on ten of 14 shots from the field including a solid 5-for-7 effort from three point range to lead all scorers.
Avery White continued her steady play with 15 points (5-10 FG, 5-6 FT) to join McCann in double figures.
Kaitlyn Carter turned in another strong game, grabbing 11 rebounds and recording four steals and two blocks.
Caleigh Edwards led the team with four assists while White has three.
The first quarter was all McCann as she sank her first four shots, all three pointers and finished the quarter scoring 14 of the Griffins 17 points as CHC took an early 17-15 lead. The Spartans kept the game close as there were a total of four ties and three lead changes. White's two free throws with 37 seconds left gave the Griffins their biggest lead of the quarter, four points, 17-13.
The Griffins still led by four three minutes into the second quarter when they exploded for ten straight points to take a 14-point ;lead 32-18 with 3:08 left in the period. White had six of CHC's ten points during the run. STAC closed out the quarter with an 11-2 spurt to pull within five at halftime 34-29.
A 7-0 run to open the third quarter again gave the Griffins a double-digit lead, 41-29. The two teams struggled making field goals for the rest of the quarter (STAC 3-13, CHC 2-10) as the Griffins lead fluctuated between nine and 12 the rest of the quarter with CHC holding a 47-36 lead heading into the final period.
STAC opened the final quarter with a 10-4 spurt to pull within five 51-46 at the 7:03 mark. A 9-0 Chestnut Hill run followed with Edwards scoring four points and
Caraline Herb capping the effort with her second three-ball of the night, giving CHC a 60-46 lead midway through the quarter. McCann's final points of the game, a layup following a
Lindsey Lane steal with 3:03 left provided the Griffins largest lead of the game 64-49. STAC added a three-pointer with 1:51 left to round out the scoring.
For the game, the Griffins shot 44.9% (22-49) from the field and were slightly stronger from beyond the three-point arc, making seven of 15 (46.7%). The Spartans shot 32.1% (18-56) from the field and were 10-26 (38.5%) from three point range. STAC had a slight rebounding advantage 35-32 while the Griffins committed fewer turnovers with 18 (STAC had 24). The Griffins scored 25 points off the STAC turnovers and finished the game with 12 steals.
The women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 13, 2024, when they travel to take on the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
