Avery White's basket with one second remaining provided the Chestnut Hill College Women's Basketball team with the winning margin as they hung on to defeat Caldwell University 78-77 Saturday afternoon at Sorgenti Arena.
The Griffins improve to 10-10 overall and 6-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. The Cougars fall to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Bridie McCann led the Griffins with 19 points (6-11 FG, 3-5 3FG) while Sara Tamoun poured in a career high 18 points and a career-best eight rebounds. Tiayo Adelekan recorded a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Her 16 rebounds are the most by a freshman player since Leah Miller grabbed 17 boards against Concordia in January 2019 – equaling the school's freshman record.
Tamoun also led the team with four assists while White and Bri Rider added three apiece. Rider also had three steals on the afternoon while Emily Sekerak had two blocks.
White's basket, a 21 foot jumper from just beyond the top of the key broke a 76-76 tie and gave the Griffins a two-point lead as Chestnut Hill fought back from a five point deficit earlier in the quarter. The Cougars had opened the quarter with a 7-2 run, breaking a 62-62 deadlock and taking a five point lead 69-64. Layups from rider and Tamoun pulled the team within one before a three-point basket from CU's Jah'nel Lewis (23 points) put the Griffins back into a four-point hole. White, who scored all of her five points in the final period, sank a three point basket, her first field goal of the game at the 7:16 mark to cut the Cougar lead back to one. Two minutes later, Tamoun  found the bottom of the net with a short jumper to give CHC a slim 73-72 lead heading into the final stretch.
Caldwell's Lucy Coogan (18 points, ten rebounds) broke a 74-all tie and put the Cougars back on top 76-74 with 3:48 left. Neither team scored again until Siobhan Boylan hid a running floater to tie the game at 76-all with 1:48 left. The Griffins stopped the Cougar offense three straight times, the last when Adelekan rebounded Neysa Aguilar's (15 points) layup attempt with nine seconds left. Following a time out, the Griffins got the ball inbounds to White who took a couple of dribbles towards the basket, avoiding a Cougar defender and launched her final shot, which hit the front of the rim and then bounced in with just one second on the clock. Coogan was then fouled with no time on the clock and had a chance to send the game into overtime with a pair of free throws. She made the first but the second clanked off the right side to end the game as the Griffins hung on for the win.
Getting to the dramatic finish was just as exciting as Chestnut Hill built an early ten point lead in the first quarter only to have the Cougars charge back with a 9-2 run to close out the period, cutting the lead to three, 23-20. Caldwell came back and tied the game twice before the Griffins closed out the quarter with a 7-2 run to lead 45-40 at halftime.
Rider's steal and fastbreak layup with 4:41 left in third quarter capped a 5-0 run and put the Griffins up six 59-53. Caldwell again rallied with a 9-1 uprising, taking their first lead of the game 62-60 with 38 seconds left in the period. Adelekan's layup tied the score at 62-all as the teams entered the final ten minutes of action which was capped by the White go-ahead basket.
Rebounding was a key factor over the course of the game as the Griffins outrebounded the Cougars 49-29. This included a 21-6 advantage on the offense glass, leading to 22 second chance points for the Griffins. (Caldwell finished with eight.) Caldwell also had a strong shooting effort which limited their second chance opportunities, making 50% of their shot attempts (29-58). The Griffins shot 27-67 (40.3%).  CHC also connected on 18 of 24 free throws (75%) while the Cougars were just 14-for-25 (56%). The Cougars also took advantage of 19 CHC turnovers, converting them in 23 points. The Griffins scored just 13 off 16 CU miscues.
The women's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, when the host Wilmington University at Sorgenti Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
