Griffins sophomore Lauren Crim is driving to the hoop in this photo, but she scored most of her game-high 26 points from the three-point arc. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

The women of Chestnut Hill College ended the first week of the new year with a record of 3-11, but since then the Griffins have strung together four straight victories, including Tuesday night's 76-72 win on the road at Jefferson University.

From the three-point arc, sophomore Lauren Crim shot eight-for-12 and the CHC squad as a whole was 15-for-31 from distance. Crim rang up a game-high 26 points and another 18 points came from her classmate Morgan Orloski, who made six of her eight shots from three-point range.

Fellow guard Cassie Sebold, a junior, scored 11 points and was credited with a game-high 15 assists, while sophomore forward Leah Miller worked the paint for a double-double in points and rebounds, with 10 in each column. In addition to climbing to 7-11 overall, the Griffins improved to 6-3 within the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

The Jefferson Lady Rams (7-10, 4-5 CACC) were led by a 21-point performance from senior point guard Alynna Williams. The Plymouth Whitemarsh High School alum also grabbed a game-high four steals. The hosts received 13 points apiece junior forward Sabria Lytes, freshman forward Haley Meinel, and junior guard Allie Warren. Lytes and Warren each collected seven rebounds to lead the Lady Rams in that category.

Jefferson, normally one of the premier teams in the conference, has suffered not only from graduation losses, but from a summertime ACL injury to junior guard Caitlyn Cunningham, a Mount St. Joseph Academy grad who had been projected as a first-team all-conference player. She had scored more than 30 points in several contests last winter.

Last Wednesday Crim hit one early trey, but Jefferson's Meinel netted a three-pointer and scored twice from closer in to lead the Lady Rams out to a 10-3 lead over the first five minutes.

Orloski kept CHC from fading away, hitting two three-point shots from the left side and then moving over towards the opposite wing to deposit two more. The visitors were behind 22-17 at the end of the first quarter, then they were outscored 19-17 in the second frame to trail by seven at the half. Orloski led all scorers at this stage with 15 points, while Crim and the Lady Rams' Lytes each had 11.

CHC's Sebold traded lay-ups with Jefferson's Warren at the start of the third quarter, then back-to-back treys by Crim wiped out most of the Lady Rams' lead. The teams went pretty much neck-and-neck through the middle of the period.

With three minutes left, a steal and breakaway lay-up by Williams nudged the home team ahead, 52-50. Chestnut Hill sophomore Rachael Millan tied it up with a pair of free throws and then lobbed in a "three" from near the top of the key to push the Griffins ahead. Two made free throws by Miller and a successful drive by Sebold separated the teams by seven points. Near the end of the third frame, Chestnut Hill missed a lay-up and Jefferson's Williams went the length of the court to score.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 59-54 advantage, the Griffins built their lead out to 10 points with an 8-3 surge that included two treys from the right side by Crim. Capping off this run, freshman Lindsey Lane popped in a jumper from the left baseline, and Chestnut Hill led 67-57 with a little over six minutes remaining.

Much of that lead was erased as Jefferson received a runner and a "three" from Williams and an inside bucket from Lytes. CHC called time-out, now ahead by just three points (67-64) with 4:28 on the clock. The Griffins' Millan and Sebold each slipped a pass inside to Miller, who sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around a "three" by Jefferson's Williams, raising the score to 71-67.

A CHC foul on the open floor gave each side three team fouls. A long possession by the Griffins ended with a missed shot, but the visitors had run the clock down close to two minutes remaining. Warren stuck a trey from the right corner to get the Lady Rams within one point of the leaders, 71-70. Next time down the court for Chestnut Hill, Sebold drove in from the left to deposit a lay-up, prying the gap back out to three points.

Warren missed her next shot from three-point range, and Lytes fouled out for Jefferson with 34.8 seconds on the clock and the teams still three points apart (73-70). Pressure on the ball by Lady Rams defenders forced CHC to call time-out to regroup with 28.7 showing. When the hosts fouled on the inbounds play, Sebold canned both free throws.

A long three-point shot by Williams missed at the other end, but just after CHC soph Abbey Spratt appeared to control the rebound Jefferson forced a tie-up and regained possession. Next, an outside shot that fell far short of the hoop sent the ball out over the baseline. Chestnut Hill called time-out with 13 seconds remaining and the score still 75-70.

There was another tie up, with the arrow pointing to the Griffins this time. They inbounded the ball back across midcourt to Sebold, who soon was fouled and made one of two free throws for a 76-70 tally with a fraction under 10 seconds left. Jefferson's Williams put in a runner right at the end for the 76-72 final.