PITTSBURGH – Chatham Women's Basketball (12-5, 10-3) suffered a 75-65 loss at the hands of the Allegheny Gators (11-6, 10-2) on Saturday at the Athletic and Fitness Center. Today's marks the Cougars' first home conference loss since Feb. 4, 2023 against Grove City. Chatham had won 21 straight PAC home games in regular season and playoffs.

Madison Nereu and Charjae Brock each posted 19 points to lead the Cougars. Brock collected four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block, while Nereu pulled down nine rebounds. Hannah Chenault went 6-6 from the foul line to total 13 points.

Allegheny opened with three-pointers for their first two scores, but Chatham was able to build a 8-6 lead thanks in part to four points from Brock. Then, a 10-0 run from the Gators gave them a 16-8 lead late in the first quarter, and they grew that lead to double-digits with a layup in the closing seconds of the period.

The second quarter began with four straight Allegheny points to make it 25-12, then, after tour straight Chatham free throws, the Gators put together another run of 6-0 to increase their lead to 15. The Cougars would fight back before halftime with 13-4 run before the Gators ended the half with a triple, making it 38-29 at the break.

Allegheny began the second half with a 10-4 run and kept Chatham at a distance throughout the period. The Cougars began the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run to cut the Gator lead to six points, but that was as close as they would get down the stretch.

The Cougars shot 36.1% (22-61) from the floor, while the Gators shot at 48.1% (26-54) and dominated the boards 43-30.

Chatham Women's Basketball will head to Waynesburg on Wednesday to take on the Yellow Jackets. That game is slated for a 5 p.m. start.