PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Chatham Women's Basketball (3-1, 0-0 PAC) pulled away from Mary Washington (1-3, 0-0 C2C) in the second quarter on Friday night en route to an 86-56 victory in their home opener.
 
Senior Hannah Chenault scored 8 of the Cougars' first 12 points, and Chatham held a 17-6 advantage with just under 4 minutes to go in the first quarter. The Eagles would cut into that advantage by the end of the opening frame, knocking down a couple of free throws to cut the Cougars' lead to 5. Then in the second quarter, 7 points from senior Madison Nereu and 6 from Chenault via two three-point baskets catapulted Chatham's lead to 19, as the Cougars outscored Mary Washington 25-11.
 
A couple layups from senior Alyssa Laukus and a three-point play from Nereu put Chatham ahead 60-37 early in the second half. Then, back-to-back three pointers from graduate student Jordyn Jensen and Chenault gave Chatham a 68-39 lead with three minutes to go in the third quarter, capping a 15-4 Cougar run. Consecutive baskets to begin the fourth quarter from senior Erin Dixon gave Chatham a 29-point advantage. That lead would get to as much as 35 after graduate student Emily Venick drained a shot from deep to put the Cougars up 86-51 with four minutes to play. Chatham played hard defense the rest of the way to close out the 30-point win.
 
Chenault netted 22 points for the Cougars, knocking down 6 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc. Nereu recorded 16 points on 7-10 shooting along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Laukus scored 13 points for Chatham, also tallying a career-high 6 steals. Senior Maria Barela put up 7 points along with 3 assists, a block and a steal for the Cougars.
 
Chatham shot 44.9% from the field for the second consecutive game. The Cougars were 9-27 for the game from three-point range and held the Eagles to 36.5% from the floor.
 
Chatham returns to the Athletic and Fitness Center tomorrow afternoon to take on Wittenberg at 2 p.m.