MEADVILLE, Pa. – Chatham Women's Basketball (14-6, 7-5 PAC) had a huge first quarter and defeated PAC foe Allegheny (10-11, 7-5) 63-59 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior Madison Nereu scored a game-high 23 points on 11-23 shooting for the Cougars. Senior Maria Barela netted 11 points while dishing out a game-high 5 assists with 7 steals. Senior Hannah Chenault netted 11 points and pulled down 7 boards for Chatham.
 
The Gators scored the first basket of the game, but the rest of the first quarter was dominated by the Cougars. 8 points from Nereu highlighted a 21-4 Chatham run that was capped by a Julia Calvin layup. The teams combined for just 7 points in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter, and two Nereu jump shots pushed the Cougars' lead to 26-16. Two Barela free throws seconds before the halftime buzzer sounded kept the Chatham advantage at 10 points at the break.
 
Nereu's bucket plus the foul three minutes into the second half gave the Cougars a 37-25 lead. Allegheny clawed back until it was within a point, but Chatham regained its advantage by holding the Gators scoreless in the proceeding four minutes. Calvin and Chenault knocked down back-to-back three-point baskets in the first minute of the fourth quarter to put the Cougars up 52-41. Allegheny again fought back, making the score 56-54 with four minutes to play, but Emily Venick responded with a basket from beyond the arc to put Chatham back up by 5. The Cougars would hen lock down on defense, allowing just 5 points the rest of the contest, and escaped with a 4-point victory.
 
Chatham shot 36.4 percent in the contest (24-66), including 10-19 in the first quarter. The Gators were 24-53 from the field (45.3 percent), including 54.5 percent (6-11) from three-point range.
 
Women's Basketball travels to Franciscan on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup in Steubenville, Ohio.