Box Score Site: Hammel Court (North Andover, Mass.)
Final Score: Goldey-Beacom 59, Merrimack 52 (ECAC Quarterfinals)
Records: Goldey-Beacom (14-14), Merrimack (12-15)
Next GBC Event: Saturday, Mar. 15 vs. Caldwell (ECAC Semifinals) | 12 p.m. | Alumni Hall (Fairfield, Conn.)
GBC-Merrimack Box Score: HTML

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. - Junior forward Chelsea Grover (Seneca H.S./Southampton, N.J.) scored 15 points and matched a season high by grabbing 11 rebounds as Goldey-Beacom College (14-14) earned its fourth win in the last five games with a 59-52 victory over Merrimack College (12-15) at Hammel Court in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Wednesday evening.

The Lightning, who are seeded fifth in the six-team field, will advance to face top-seeded Caldwell College in the ECAC semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 15 at Alumni Hall on the campus of Fairfield University. Meanwhile, the Warriors' season ends with the loss.

After trading the lead six times in the opening 10 minutes, the Lightning used a jumper by junior forward Dakia Manning (Freire Charter H.S./East Lansdowne, Pa.) with 9:25 left in the first half to ignite a 10-2 run, which gave Goldey-Beacom a 31-22 lead.

The Warriors trimmed the deficit to 35-28 with 1:39 remaining in the opening stanza before a jumper by junior guard Shantia Creech (Hunt H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.) with 35 seconds left increased the Lightning's advantage to 37-28 at the intermission.

The Lightning scored 8 of the first 10 points to start the second half, upping their lead to 45-30 on a Creech jumper with 14:55 remaining. However, Merrimack began to make a comeback by going on a 17-7 spurt over the next 11 minutes to narrow the gap to 52-47 on a jumper by sophomore guard Lexi Wells (Bishop Feehan H.S./Attleboro, Mass).

After a lay-up by junior guard Lillian Chukwueze (Cherry Hill East H.S./Cherry Hill, N.J.) regained a seven-point advantage for the Lightning with 3:11 left, the Warriors scored five of the next seven points to close the gap to 56-52 with 54 seconds remaining on a three-point field goal by junior guard Chloe Rothman (Newton South H.S./Newton, Mass.).

But, the Lightning sealed the victory by making three of four free throws in the final minute.

Grover, who recorded her sixth "double double" of the season, made 4 of 12 field goal attempts while connecting on all six of her free throw attempts. She scored 9 of her 15 points in the first half as the Lightning overcame an early deficit to take a 37-28 advantage at the intermission.

Meanwhile, Chukwueze tallied a game-high 18 points for the Lightning, connecting on 7 of 15 shots from the floor, including a 3-for-4 performance from three-point range. She also added five rebounds with four steals.

Making her first start of the season, Creech contributed 14 points with eight rebounds while Manning came off the bench to score eight points with a season-high nine rebounds.

Freshman guard Caitlyn Garger (Hicksville H.S./Hicksville, N.Y.) came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for the Warriors, making 6 of 14 shots from the floor in addition to a pair of free throws. Rothman added 10 points while junior forward Cassi Amenta (St. Mary's H.S./Lynn, Mass.) tallied eight points with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Game Notes:
• The Lightning and the Warriors were coming off lengthy breaks ... Goldey-Beacom had not played since a 62-51 loss against Bloomfield in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference quarterfinals on Mar. 1 while Merrimack had been idle since its regular season finale against Saint Michael's on Feb. 25.
• Goldey-Beacom recorded 11 steals against the Warriors on Wednesday, marking its fourth game this year with 11 or more steals.
• Chukwueze scored in double figures for the 20th time in the last 21 games.
• Senior forward Briana Richmond-Peters (Brimm Medical Arts H.S./Camden, N.J.) posted 10 or more rebounds for the fifth consecutive game ... Led by Richmond-Peters and Grover, the Lightning outrebounded the Warriors by a 49-44 margin.
• Junior guard Taylor Leonard (John A. Coleman Catholic H.S./Lake Katrine, N.Y.) upped her season assist total to 83 this year, moving into sixth place on the Lightning's all-time single-season list.
• Caldwell and Goldey-Beacom met once during the regular season ... The Cougars edged the Lightning by a 62-59 verdict at George R. Newman Center on Feb. 16.