A late rally by the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team fell short as Shippensburg University defeated the Griffins 65-58 Tuesday afternoon at Heiges Fieldhouse in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
The Griffins fall to 5-8 overall with the loss while Shippensburg improves to 5-6
Tiayo Adelekan scored a career high 18 points (6-9 FG, 6-7 FT) to lead the Griffins. Bridie McCann added 11 points while Cha'kya Johnson chipped in a career-high ten points. Emily Sekerak had eight rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. As a team, the Griffins broke the school's single game record with 12 total blocks. Caleigh Edwards contributed seven rebounds while Avery White and Sara Tamoun had four assists apiece.
The Raiders opened up a 12 point lead in the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, leading 58-46 with 5:37 left. Chestnut Hill followed with an 11-2 uprising, closing within three with just under a minute remaining. Adelekan started the run with five straight points, cutting the lead to 58-51 with 4:35 left. After SU's Bella Chimienti put the Raiders back up by eight Johnson scored two consecutive baskets, the last being an and-one to pull the Griffins within three 60-57 with 44 seconds left.  The Raiders scored five of the final six points to seal the win.
A 10-1 run to start the third quarter had pulled the Griffins within two 37-35 before SU's Teja Colbert's third three-point basket of the game pushed the host's lead back to five. The Griffins again closed within two at 40-38 before the Raiders closed out the quarter on an 8-4 run to lead by six 48-42 heading into the final period.
In the first half, Shippensburg took advantage of seven Chestnut Hill turnovers in the first quarter, opening up a 19-5 lead via an 11-0 run before Adelekan's two free throws broke the run. Adelekan added another basket in the final seconds as the Raiders ended the quarter with a 21-9 advantage.
The Griffins opened the second quarter with a 10-3 run to close the gap to five at 24-19. The Raiders followed with six straight points to go back up by double digits, 30-19. Cha'kya Johnson followed with two straight layups and Avery White added one of her own to again cut the deficit to five 30-25 in the final minute of the quarter. Shippensburg scored the final six points of the quarter to lead 36-25 at halftime.
Colbert led the Raiders with 18 points while Mia Johnson chipped in 16. Abbie Miller led the team with nine rebounds.
For the game, the Griffins outshot the Raiders, making 37.5% (21-56) of their shots while SU connected on 34.3% (23-67). Chestnut Hill outrebounded Shippensburg, 46-39. Shippensburg took advantage of 25 CHC turnovers scoring 21 points from the Griffin miscues, while committing only 12 turnovers leading to 17 CHC points.
The women's basketball team resumes conference play on Saturday, January 4, 2025 with a home contest against the University of Bridgeport. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
