HIRAM, Ohio – Chatham Women's Basketball (12-4, 5-3 PAC) used a huge first quarter to defeat Hiram (5-12, 2-6) 70-56 on Saturday afternoon.
Senior
Madison Nereu led the Cougars with 16 points on 8-16 shooting, 9 rebounds, a game-high 6 assists and 4 steals. Senior
Maria Barela scored 13 points with 2 assists. Senior
Alyssa Laukus had 12 points shooting 5-7 from the field, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Senior
Julia Calvin dropped 11 points with 5 boards and 3 steals, and junior
Hannah Stephanites netted 8 points on 3-5 shooting for Chatham.
After trailing 4-3 two minutes into the game, the Cougars' offense came to life and a 22-4 run put them in the driver's seat for the remainder of the contest. Nereu scored 8 points during the run and Barela dropped in 7. A 7-2 Terrier run gave Hiram some momentum as halftime approached, but Calvin's triple late in the second quarter gave Chatham a 32-17 lead going into the break. The teams combined for just 5 points in the final five minutes of the frame.
Layups from
Jordyn Jensen and Stephanites gave the Cougars a 43-24 lead, and with 15 minutes left in the contest it looked as though Chatham would win easily. The Terriers had other plans, however, and an 18-7 run to close the third quarter brought them within 8. They would get the score to 55-49 with five minutes to play before a 9-0 Cougars run in the next two minutes slammed the door. Nereu's jumper with a minute left put Chatham up 68-54, then
Maria Barela scored the 1,000th point of her career on a free throw with 35 seconds left to secure the 14-point Cougar victory.
Chatham shot 64.3 percent (9-14) in its big first quarter and 45.9 percent (28-61) across the contest. The Cougars converted on 83.3 percent of their free throws (10-12) while Hiram was just 53.8 percent (7-13) from the charity stripe. Hiram shot 65.2 percent from the field (15-23) and 66.7 percent from three-point range (4-6) in the second half. Chatham held a 37-25 edge in rebounds.
Women's Basketball returns to action on Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Washington & Jefferson at the Athletic and Fitness Center.
