PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Chatham Women's Basketball (6-1, 0-0 PAC) used a 50-16 second-half burst to defeat Penn State Behrend (3-3, 0-0 AMCC) 92-52 on Tuesday night in their final test before PAC play begins.
 
Senior Madison Nereu was the Cougars' top scorer with 30 points on 11-18 shooting and added 9 boards and 3 assists. Senior Alyssa Laukus netted a career-high 29 points in 26 minutes, also knocking down a career-high 13 field goals in 17 attempts. The Irwin native additionally pulled down 5 rebounds and had 3 steals. Senior Maria Barela stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 8 boards, a career-high 9 assists and 4 steals. Senior Hannah Chenault recorded 6 points on a game-high 2 three-point baskets with 8 rebounds, and senior Erin Dixon netted 9 points on 3-7 shooting for Chatham.
 
The Lions took an early 9-4 lead, but 5 points from Nereu helped even the score. A 9-2 Behrend pushed the Lions ahead, and the Cougars trailed 23-17 after a quarter of play. Behrend still led 26-22 a couple of minutes into quarter two, but three Laukus layups contributed to an 11-0 Chatham run. Two free throws from Laukus with less than a second to play in the half put the Cougars up 42-36 at the intermission.
 
The Lions cut into that lead, making the score 44-40 two minutes into the third quarter. Chatham proceeded to go on a 24-4 run for the remainder of the frame, highlighted by 8 points from Nereu and 4 from Laukus and Dixon. The Cougars pushed their advantage to 74-46 early in the fourth, and would hold Behrend to just 8 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Laukus and Nereu netted 8 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and Chatham closed out the 40-point victory with a 16-2 run.
 
The Cougars' 48.6% field goal shooting was their best of the season. Chatham also set a season high in free throws made, knocking down 17 at a 73.9% clip. The Cougars held the Lions to just 21.2% shooting in the second half, including 0-10 from beyond the arc.

Next, Women's Basketball heads to Washington and Jefferson to open conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.