The women of Chestnut Hill College closed out the pre-Christmas portion of their basketball season with a convincing 65-47 victory over visiting West Chester University, climbing to an overall record of 5-7.

In the history of the rivalry between the two schools, it was only the second CHC victory, and although the Golden Rams left Chestnut Hill with a record of 3-7, earlier in the month they'd defeated Jefferson University, the defending champion in Chestnut Hill's own Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

It was a very welcome win for the CHC Griffins, according to new head coach Megan Fox. She's been trying to transform the Chestnut Hill offense into one that takes a more up-tempo approach, pushing the ball hard in transition. Her charges did not immediately buy into it, but obviously they're now coming around.

Although they have new leadership, the Griffins have most of their players back from 2023-24, when they reached the CACC finals for the first time. Only Penn Charter grad Kait Carter and one other player graduated from last year's team. New talent, in the form of both freshmen and transfers, has been added, as well.

CHC and West Chester went neck-and-neck through much of the first half last week. At the outset, a three-pointer by Golden Rams senior forward Michelle Kozicki was answered in kind by Griffins sophomore guard Bridie McCann, who let fly from the left wing. McCann, the CACC Rookie of the Year last season, would share the game high of 20 points with Kozicki.

The Griffins would get eight points apiece from freshman forward Tiayo Adelekan and junior transfer Kaya Mobley, who came along with Coach Fox from their former school, Penn State Abington. West Chester received a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, from 5'10" guard Anna McTamney, a senior out of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

Despite a three-point bucket from senior guard Siobhan Boylan and a driving lay-up by junior point guard Avery White, West Chester led at the close of the first quarter, 11-8. Two more guards, sophomore Caleigh Edwards and freshman Tikyra Miller, got in on the scoring action at the start of the second stanza.

Later the Golden Rams led by one point, 18-17, when they called time-out with 2:43 remaining in the first half. The peptalk apparently did Chestnut Hill more good than the visitors, as the Griffins closed out the quarter with an 11-0 run. Four different players fueled the surge, with Edwards capping it off with a three-point bucket in the final seconds to set the score at 28-18 for the intermission.

The third period was more competitive, although the hosts still were able to add a point to their lead for a 45-34 advantage at the three-quarter mark. The Golden Rams needed to quickly cut into the Chestnut Hill lead at the start of the final frame, but instead the Griffins took the initiative on offense.

McCann bagged another trey to start things off, then Mobley penetrated for back-to-back lay-ups. Fouled each time, she made both free throws to give CHC a 20-point cushion at 54-34. The visitors never really recovered from this, and still lagged by 18 points at the final horn.

Along the way, West Chester lost junior guard Sofia Coleman, a Gwynedd Mercy Academy graduate. Coming off the bench, she hit a three-point jumper, but contact on the play contributed to a faulty landing, and she left the floor with an ankle injury.

For the Griffins, Edwards and Boylan shared the team high in rebounds, with eight apiece, while scoring seven and five points, respectively. White wound up with six points and senior Bri Rider with four, while senior Angel Sanders scored three points and Miller and junior Sara Tamoun had two points apiece.