A late fourth quarter run by the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team produced their first conference win of the season as they held off Georgian Court University 77-74 in Lakewood, New Jersey on Saturday.

The Griffins improve to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games.    The Lions fall to 1-8 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Four players reached double figures for the Griffins led by Bridie McCann's 16 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3FG). Emily Sekerak came off the bench to score 14 points (4-6 FG, 6=6 FT) in just 15 minutes of action while Avery White added 13 points and Tiayo Adelekan chipped in 11.

Bri Rider led all players with eight rebounds while Caleigh Edwards, Sekerak and McCann had five apiece.  White had five assists while Edwards added four.  Siobhan Boylan had three steals and three blocks.    Sekerak, McCann and Rider also had three steals apiece.

The Griffins trailed by four 70-66 with 4:26 left in the game when they exploded for eight straight points to retake the lead 74-70.   Sekerak started and ended the run with s pair of free throws while White produced a fast break layup plus one off a GCU steal.  After a free throw by the Lions broke the run, Sekerak added two more free throws to put the Griffins up five, 76-71 with 1:05 left.  GCU added a three-point basket with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to two before White added a free throw to push the lead back to three.  The Lions had two open three-point looks in the final ten seconds but were unable to connect and the Griffins held on for the win.

Chestnut Hill had led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before the Lions started chipping away at the lead closing within six, 45-39 with a 10-2 run.  A Sara Tamoun three-point basket and a layup from White put the lead back to double digits, 50-39.  The Griffins still led by eight, 55-47 when the Lions went on 8-0 run to tie the game at 55-55 as the two squads headed into the fourth quarter.

The Griffins built their big lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Lions 19-4 over the final six minutes, turning a five point deficit into a 37-27 lead at halftime.  McCann fueled the run with seven points including the first of her two three point shots.  Kaya Mobley added two baskets while Sekerak and Cha'kya Johnson had one basket apiece.  White made three straight free throws at the 1:31 mark and Boylan added one more from the charity stripe, before McCann's three-pointer completed the scoring on the run.  GCU added a buzzer-beater to make the score 37-27 at the half.

Georgian Court took advantage of ten Chestnut Hill turnover, scoring 10 of their 12 points as the two team played to a 12-12 tie in the opening period. 

For the game, the Griffins shot 46.6% (27-58) from the field and were an efficient 20-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line.  The Lions shot 36.8% (25-68) and were 9-for-22 from three point range (40.2%).  The Griffins out rebounded the Lions 41-39 while both teams combined for 48 turnovers (CHC-26) and 44 fouls (CHC-21).    

The women's basketball team returns to action on Friday, December 13, 2024 when they travel to play Division I La Salle University. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.