MEADVILLE, Pa. - December 31, 2023 - Chatham Women's Basketball (11-2, 7-1) came away with a 72-65 double-overtime victory against the Allegheny Gators (4-8, 3-4) on Sunday at the David V. Wise Center, marking the program's first overtime game in over 10 years. The Cougars have now won 10 games in a row, which extends the program record they set earlier in December.

Junior guard Ashlie Louden led the game with 26 points on 8-21 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Louden went 7-10 from the free throw line and knocked down three three-pointers. Sophomore forward Alyssa Laukus earned her second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She added three assists and two blocks. Junior guard Emily Durkee had 14 points and contributed five boards with two steals. Sophomore guard Hannah Chenault scored 12 points, including two triples, and pulled down nine rebounds of her own.

The Cougars offense started out slow, going 4-20 from the field in the first quarter, but they used solid defense and made 7 of 10 free throws to maintain a 17-12 lead. Both offenses struggled in the second quarter with just nine points a piece and 10 total turnovers. The Gators started the third quarter with an 11-5 run to take a 32-31 lead. The two teams traded the lead four more times before the end of the quarter, with Allegheny leading by three at the end of the frame. 

In the fourth, the Cougars led 43-41 with 7:47 left after a 7-2 run. After a couple more lead changes down the stretch, the two teams found themselves tied at 50 with 1:46 left. A layup from the Gators gave them a two-point lead, but two clutch free throws from Durkee tied the game once more with 27 seconds remaining and Allegheny couldn't convert on the last possession of regulation. The Gators took their first lead of overtime with under a minute left, but the Cougars again answered, with a jumper from Rodriguez tying the game with 28 seconds left. Allegheny connected on a mid-range jumper with just five seconds left, but Laukus was able to get free for a fastbreak layup off the inbound to send the game to double overtime. In the second overtime period, the Cougars pulled away with 14 points to put an end to the drama.

Chatham shot 27.9% (24-86) from the field, 21.2% (7-33) from deep and 68.0% (17-25) from the line. The Cougars won the board battle with a season-high 61 rebounds.

Women's Basketball returns in the new year with a road contest against Waynesburg next Saturday.