PITTSBURGH – Chatham Women's Basketball (16-5, 14-3 PAC) used a dominant third quarter to defeat Thiel (0-22, 0-17) 71-33 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Charjae Brock was the Cougars' top scorer, netting 21 points on 9-16 shooting. Madison Nereu scored 15 points for Chatham on an efficient 7-9 from the field and grabbed 6 boards. Alyssa Laukus had 9 points and a game high 4 steals, and Ashlie Louden had a game high 4 assists and put up 8 points. Leah Harkenrider scored 8 points for the Cougars, and Julia Calvin had a team high 7 rebounds.
 
Thiel played competitively with Chatham early, tying the game at 6 within the first 5 minutes. After Chatham pulled out to a 13-6 lead, the Tomcats made it a 15-11 contest near the end of the first quarter. Thiel then scored the first 5 points of the second frame and managed to cut the deficit to 22-21 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the half. Charjae Brock gave the Cougars a boost going into the locker room with 6 points in the final four minutes of the half, but at the interval Chatham led by just 6 points.
 
That tight scoreline would be all but forgotten after the third quarter, as the Cougars raced out to a 41-23 advantage by scoring the first 12 points of the quarter, 6 of which came from Madison Nereu. Brock would cap the frame, which Chatham won 20-1, with two layups to push the lead to 25. The Brock and Nereu show continued into the fourth quarter with each scoring 4 points in the first three minutes to make it a 58-26 game. The Cougars cruised the rest of the way, ultimately giving up just 10 points in the second half.
 
Issy Green led the Tomcats in scoring with 10 points, steals with 2, assists with 2 and blocks with 1. Kayley Risser racked up 8 points for Thiel, and Bria Ringloff collected a game high 13 rebounds.
 
Chatham will travel to Bethany on Wednesday, Feb. 12 for their next matchup, a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in West Virginia.