CHC sophomore Rachael Millan scored 24 points in Team Kelly Green’s first NCAA League victory last week. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption]

by Tom Utescher

In the women’s NCAA League last week, the Kelly Green team that is largely powered by Chestnut Hill College players notched its first two victories of the summer, defeating Team Orange, 62-58, on Tuesday, and topping Team Sky Blue two nights later, 83-60.

With just one night of regular-season games remaining, Kelly Green will still have to engage in the four-team play-in stage for the league tournament. A final regular-season victory this Tuesday would give the CHC group a record of 3-6 and a seventh-place finish in the 10-team league.

The top six squads will pass directly into the quarterfinals, and two teams that will play one another on Tuesday, Golden Sun and Purple, ended last week tied for fifth place with records of 4-4. Tied for third at 6-2 were Team Red and Team Royal Blue (which includes Penn Charter alum Hannah Fox).

In second place at 7-1 was Team Maroon, which is staffed by University of the Sciences players, while retaining the top spot with an 8-0 mark were Mount St. Joe grad Caitlyn Cunningham and her Jefferson University colleagues on Team Black.

Last Tuesday, Black handed Team Red its second loss in a row (after a 5-0 start), with Cunningham contributing eight points toward the Lady Rams’ 49-42 triumph.

On the same night, Kelly Green broke through for its first win this summer. Defeating Team Orange (mostly Penn State Abington players), the summer Griffins marked down 24 points for sophomore Rachael Millan, who made four three-point field goals. They improved to 1-6 and left Orange as the only winless team in the league.

Mount St. Joseph grad Caitlyn Cunningham lifts off for a lay-up for Team Black, Jefferson University’s summer franchise. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption]

In an even closer contest, 2016 PC grad Fox hit three three’s and scored 21 points to help Royal Blue overcome Lime Green, 69-67. Contributing to Royal’s assault from the outside was Jenkintown High alum Emma Dorshimer, with 16 points and four treys. Fox and Dorshimer play for Amherst College and Gettysburg College, respectively.

Kelly Green picked up its second win on Thursday evening, powering past Sky Blue by a final margin of 23 points. CHC junior Shannon Glenn and freshman Lauren Crim collected 20 and 18 points, respectively. Recent Springside Chestnut Hill Academy grad Joelle Bridges registered a dozen points for Sky Blue, which is made up of her future Arcadia University teammates.

Since suffering its lone loss of the season to Team Black a few weeks back, Team Maroon (USciences) has been on a mission to be in position for a possible rematch with Black in the playoffs. On Thursday, junior guard Jordan Vitelli jacked up four three-pointers as she scored 18 of her game-high 21 points during the first half against Royal Blue, and the outcome of the contest wasn’t in doubt for very long.

Vitelli, who popped in a fifth “three” in the second half, was one of six Marooners to score in double digits in the 94-39 victory, while Fox paced Royal Blue with 12 points on the night. On an adjacent court, Team Black had five individuals reach double figures as it eclipsed Golden Sun, 87-70. Cunningham came away with 14 points, and forward Beverly Kum led the charge with 17.

Team Orange was finally able to erase the “0” from its win column, thanks to a 72-68 win over Lime Green.