February 15, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHC women ground Crimson Eagles, 59-42
by TOM UTESCHER

CHC’s Judy Parise

Sitting second in the Southern Division of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), the women’s hoop squad at Chestnut Hill College fought off a challenge from the number three team last Tuesday night, beating the visiting Crimson Eagles of the Philadelphia Biblical University, 59-42.

Forwards Kate Quintus (nine rebounds) and Tara Walsh (eight rebounds, five blocks) each fired 14 points for the Griffins, who also received double-digit scoring from Lindsay Formica (ten points, six rebounds) as they improved to 12-9 overall and 10-3 in the NEAC.

PBU (the former Philadelphia College of Bible, which relocated from center city to Langhorne some time ago), came away with a record of 15-6, 8-6, despite a 14-point effort from Summer Mullen, along with nine from Danielle Norton (six rebounds) and seven points from Beth Smith (11 rebounds, three steals).

Before the game got underway, Chestnut Hill bid an official farewell to Quintus and her fellow seniors, forward Andrea Carter (seven points, four rebounds) and point guard Judy Parise (two points, seven assists, four steals). All three were members of the CHC team which reached the NCAA Division III tournament in 2005.

Carter, who was named NEAC Student Athlete of the Week for her play during the last week of January, deposited the opening field goal of Tuesday’s tilt. After that, the PBU players had the high-scoring senior squarely in their defensive sights, but this opened up opportunities for Quintus and Walsh.

With Mullen connecting on short jumpers and driving lay-ups for ten points, the Crimson Eagles stayed right with the home team for the first 13 minutes, only trailing 20-19 at the end of that stretch. A lay-up and accompanying free throw by Katelin Formica (six points) started the Griffins off on the decisive run of the night, a 15-1 sprint in a little over five minutes. Coming off the bench, Lindsay Formica bagged a pair of three-pointers along the way, and Chestnut Hill continued on to a 39-23 halftime lead.

During the first frame, Quintus scored twice from offensive rebounds and deposited three other lay-ups, matching Mullen’s ten points for the period. For the game as a whole, CHC would thump Bible on the boards, 52-33.

The Griffins kept their lead up in the mid-to-high teens until the ten-minute mark of the second half, when the count was 54-36. For the first time in the period, PBU scored consecutive field goals (a lay-up and a three-pointer to make it 54-41), but the baskets came almost a minute-and-a-half apart, and it just wasn’t enough to spark a true rally for the visitors. They would manage just a single free throw over the last six minutes, as Chestnut Hill cruised to a 17-point victory.

Jenna Beck posted three points and five rebounds for the winners, who also got two points and four boards from Carley Glass.