PITTSBURGH – Chatham Women's Basketball (20-5, 17-3) secured a narrow 61-59 victory over the Bethany Bison (13-13, 10-10) in the PAC Quarterfinal on Tuesday night in front of a packed Athletic and Fitness Center.

Hannah Chenault led the way for the Cougars with 17 points on 6-11 shooting, including 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Cheanult added eight rebound and two blocks. Alyssa Laukus tallied 16 points on 6-9 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds with two steals and two blocks. Charjae Brock netted 10 points and picked up five steals with four assists and two boards. Ashlie Louden had five rebounds, five assists and four steals to go along with five points.

Chatham came out with a quick 4-0 in the first minute thanks to layups from Louden and Madison Nereu, but Bethany would tie the game at 4 after four minutes of play. The Cougars then built a 13-5 run, with four points each from Nereu and Laukus, which gave them a 17-9 advantage before the Bison cut the lead to five.

The second quarter began with a 6-1 Bethany run that tied the game at 19, but Chatham immediately turned in another lengthy run of 15-4, featuring three triples from Chenault. Another three-pointer from Leah Harkenrider helped the Cougars to a 41-27 halftime lead.

After another Chatham run of 10-0 gave the hosts a 55-37 lead, the game appeared to be well in hand, but the Bison outscored the Cougars 17-3 in the final frame and had multiple chances to tie or take the lead, but were unable to pull off the comeback.

Chatham shot 36.5% (23-63) from the field, while Bethany shot 40% (26-65) from the field. The Cougars, however, were 41.2% (7-17) from deep, while the Bison sat at 19.2% (5-26). Bethany won the rebound battle 44-39 and committed 19 turnovers, while Chatham committed 16.

Chatham Women's Basketball will advance to play the two-seed Allegheny Gators in Meadville on Thursday night The winner of that contest will secure a spot in the PAC Final, where the higher seed will host. A link to the tournament bracket can be found here.