PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Chatham Women's Basketball (10-4, 3-3 PAC) used an early scoring run to take down Grove City (10-5, 4-2) 84-54 in a Saturday afternoon showdown at the Athletic and Fitness Center.
Senior
Alyssa Laukus was the game's leading scorer with 25 points, becoming the seventh player to score 1,000 points for Chatham in the process. The Norwin product shot 11-15 from the field and drained her first three-point basket of the season, gathered 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and added 2 blocks and 2 steals. Senior
Madison Nereu recorded her sixth double-double in seven games with 21 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Senior
Julia Calvin scored 8 points with 6 rebounds for the Cougars. Senior
Maria Barela netted 7 points along with 3 assist and 3 rebounds. Senior
Hannah Chenault scored 6 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. First year
Erica Olszewski had a game-high 3 steals for Chatham.
The Cougars offense was rolling from the opening tip, and a couple Laukus layups along with a Chenault triple had Chatham ahead 8-2 in the opening two minutes of the game. The run did not stop there, as Nereu would pour in 6 points to give the Cougars a 22-4 advantage. Chatham would hold a 27-12 advantage after the opening frame, with Barela beating the buzzer with a three. The Wolverines pulled within 27-17 in the second quarter, but the Cougars a 16-7 run in the remainder of the half to go up 19 at the break.
Chatham continued its offensive proficiency in the second half. Nine Nereu points helped the Cougars strike with a 14-0 scoring run resulting in a 66-37 lead. In the fourth quarter, Chatham extended its lead to 33 points in multiple occasions, with
Jordyn Miller knocking down a triple and
Kristin Szymusiak getting a bucket to bring the Cougars' total to 84 points.
Chatham shot 11-18 (61.1%) in the first quarter and 49.3% (33-67) in the game. It held Grove City to 4-17 (23.5%) from three-point range.
The Cougars are back at the Athletic and Fitness Center on Wednesday at 5 p.m. to host Franciscan.
