CHC summer squad jolted by Gwynedd

by TOM UTESCHER

In their last regular-season contest in the Malvern Summer Basketball League, the Chestnut Hill College Griffins fell behind Gwynedd Mercy in the opening minutes and never caught up. The locals were around a dozen points behind the leaders six minutes into the second half, then Gwynedd’s momentum snowballed and the result was a 69-37 defeat for the Hill women.

An opening lay-up for Gwynedd Mercy (also nicknamed the Griffins) was matched by CHC’s Andrea Carter, but after that GMC ran off ten straight points, and the locals didn’t score another field goal until Kate Quintus converted off of a rebound about nine minutes into the game.

Gwynedd was frequently able to strip the ball from the Chestnut Hill players, and CHC did not box out well under the boards. The result was that Gwynedd enjoyed multiple shots on many offensive possessions, while Chestnut Hill was one-and-done. The Hill women also tried to force the ball inside too hastily on offense, creating additional turnovers.

Carter continued to work hard in the paint and Bethanne Castone hit a few outside shots, but the locals still found themselves trailing, 34-18, at the intermission.

A three-pointer from the right corner by Castone and additional buckets by Carter and Kelly McGrath kept Chestnut Hill from falling farther behind as the second period got underway. A little later, Quintus put in a lay-up and an accompanying free throw, and Jen Banks added another field goal from the paint. This brought the locals back within 13 points of the leaders, at 44-31, with just under 14 minutes remaining in the contest.

At this point, however, Chestnut Hill’s point production dried up, and over the next eight minutes Gwynedd put the game totally out of reach by ringing up 17 straight points. Finally, Castone stuck a 15-footer from the right wing with 5:43 remaining to get CHC’s side of the scoreboard moving again. Field goals by Carter and Amy Ciaburri completed Chestnut Hill’s total, as Carter and Castone each came away with ten points on the night.