CHC edged out in final summer games

by TOM UTESCHER

As competition in the Malvern women’s summer basketball league drew to its conclusion last week, Chestnut Hill College dropped a pair of close contests in the playoff consolation bracket.

After the Griffins recovered from a 14-19 halftime deficit against Albright on Monday, the teams stayed within a few points of one another the rest of the way, but in the end the Lady Lions squeezed past Chestnut Hill, 42-39. Two nights later, the Griffins again wound up with a three-point shortfall as they succumbed to an understaffed Goldey-Beacom team, 66-63.

Against Albright, lay-ups by Amy Ciaburri and Lindsay Tornetta and two free throws and a three-pointer by Bethanne Castone had CHC in a 9-9 tie with its Reading, PA rival midway through the first half. Albright then moved ahead with a 5-1 spurt, and despite buckets from the paint later on by Ciaburri and Andrea Carter, the Griffins trailed by five at the intermission. Chestnut Hill fouls were a major factor, allowing the Lions to scavenge nine of their 19 points from the free throw line.

At the start of the second half, CHC’s Carter put some moves on the Albright center as the pair battled down in the box, and her three field goals helped bring the locals back within one of the leaders, at 21-20. A little later, a trey by Castone leveled the score at 23-all, and after that the teams were deadlocked on four other occasions, the last time at 34-34.

Ciaburri worked effectively on the inside and Castone continued to connect from the perimeter, each scoring eight points in the second half to power the Griffins’ offense. A sky-hook by Ciaburri gave Chestnut Hill a 39-38 edge with 3:11 left in the game.

Albright countered with a jumper from just inside the foul line and then added a lay-up to put the final score on the board. CHC’s Kelly McGrath came away empty on a pair of free throws with 21 ticks remaining, and in the closing seconds a three-point attempt by Castone fell short.

Wednesday’s setback was more disturbing because Chestnut Hill enjoyed a full starting complement and had two reserves on the sidelines, while Goldey- Beacom played the entire game with just four players. The Wilmington, DE club received a great majority of its points from one inside and one outside player, but even with a one-woman advantage on the court and the ability to bring in fresh players from the bench, Chestnut Hill was unable to consistently box out in the paint or to challenge the perimeter shooter.

In the first half, the Griffins came from behind to tie the bout at 13-13 with 8:30 remaining and went on to lead 32-24 by the break. Judy Parise hit two regular field goals and two three-pointers to lead the locals with ten points, while Carter, Ciaburri and Kate Quintus added six points apiece.

In the second period the Griffins were able to maintain their inside scoring, but Parise was held to just three points.

CHC’s reserves were front row players, but they were unable to push the pace and substitute effectively enough to wear down Beacom’s big girls. A short baseline shot by Ciaburri put Chestnut Hill up 34-24 at the start of the trailing half, but in a two-minute span Goldey-Beacom rattled off ten straight points to tie the game.

The teams went neck-and-neck until there were about five minutes to play, when the Griffins led for the last time at 54-53. The Lady Lightning had used their time-outs judiciously to rest themselves, and it was they who actually began to pick up the tempo down the stretch. A pair of fast break buckets started the Delaware quartet off on a decisive run of nine straight points. Carter scored seven of CHC’s last nine points in the game, but the Griffins were never able to catch up. Carter and Parise each scored 13 points for the locals, and Ciaburri and Quintus added 12 and 10, respectively.