PITTSBURGH, Pa. – On Thursday, Chatham Women's Basketball will appear in its fourth consecutive PAC Semifinal when the Cougars visit the South division's #2 seed Washington & Jefferson at 6 p.m.
 
With a victory, Chatham would advance to its fourth consecutive PAC Championship game. In the past two seasons, the Championship game was contested between these two teams, with the Cougars taking home the 2023-24 title and the Presidents winning last season's matchup. Chatham comes into the game as the #4 seed from the PAC South, finishing the regular season 18-7 overall and 10-6 in the PAC. The Cougars advanced out of the quarterfinals by taking down #1 North seed Grove City 57-50 on Tuesday night. Chatham has won five of its last six games and six straight on the road.
 
Washington & Jefferson comes into the contest with a 20-6 overall and 14-2 conference record. The Presidents have won four straight games and 9 of their last 10. They defeated #3 Geneva 80-55 in Tuesday's quarterfinal round.

W&J won both regular season matchups between the teams. The Presidents took the first contest in Washington 61-52 on Dec. 3 of last year, with Katie Kovalchick leading W&J by scoring 22 points. Senior Hannah Chenault was the Cougars' top scorer with 18 points, and senior Madison Nereu had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Then in Pittsburgh on Jan. 28, The Presidents swept the regular season series with a 64-52 victory. Riley DeRubbo scored a game-high 17 points for W&J while Madison Nereu netted 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Chatham.
 
The Cougars own the best scoring defense in the PAC (54.6 points allowed per game) and is fifth in scoring offense (69.2 points per game). The Presidents pace the conference in scoring offense (73.2 PPG) while ranking third in defense (58.4 PAPG).
 
No player in the PAC averages more points per game than Chatham's leading scorer Madison Nereu's 18.3. W&J's top scorer Riley DeRubbo ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 15.5 PPG.

The winner of the Semifinal will meet the winner of Saint Vincent and Bethany in the PAC Championship. The Cougars would be the away team in either scenario. A link to the bracket can be found here.
 
A fan shuttle will be available to any Chatham students who would like to make the trip to Washington to attend the game, and will depart from the Athletic and Fitness Center Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The winner of the PAC's Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament. The selected Division III Championship teams, as well as the first and second round site selections, will be announced Monday, March 2nd. First and second round games are scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 6-7.