Box Score
Site: Alumni Hall (Fairfield, Conn.)
Final Score: Goldey-Beacom 77, Caldwell 64 (ECAC Semifinals)
Records: Goldey-Beacom (15-14), Caldwell (18-12)
Next GBC Event: Sunday, Mar. 16 vs. Bluefield State/West Virginia State | 1 p.m. | Alumni Hall (Fairfield, Conn.)
GBC-Caldwell Box Score: HTML
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Junior guard
Lillian Chukwueze (Cherry Hill East H.S./Cherry Hill, N.J.) scored a season-high 34 points, including 26 in the second half, and added a game-high 13 rebounds as Goldey-Beacom College (15-14) advanced to the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Women's Basketball Championship Game with a 77-64 victory over Caldwell College (18-12) at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon.
Led by Chukwueze, who posted her sixth "double double" of the season, the Lightning earned their fifth win in the last six games. They will advance to face third-seeded Bluefield State in the championship game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. after the Blue Devils edged West Virginia State in overtime by a 76-70 count in the second semifinal.
After falling behind by a 15-11 margin in the opening 7:30 of the first half, the Lightning used a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 24-17 lead. Junior guard
Shantia Creech (Hunt H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.) and senior forward
Briana Richmond-Peters (Brimm Medical Arts H.S./Camden, N.J.) combined to score nine points during the run.
The Cougars answered by scoring five straight points to trim the deficit to 24-22 with 5:02 remaining before the Lightning tallied 8 of the final 13 points to take a 32-27 advantage into the intermission.
Led by eight points from Chukwueze, the Lightning opened the second half by scoring 17 of the first 22 points to extend their advantage to 47-32 with 16:09 left in the second half. From there, the Lightning never led by fewer than 11 points over the remaining 16 minutes of the game.
A second team All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference selection, Chukwueze made 14 of 26 shots from the floor, including a 4-for-7 effort from three-point range, while making both of her free throw attempts.
Meanwhile, Richmond-Peters posted her fifth "double double" in the last six games by scoring 12 points with 10 rebounds while junior forward
Chelsea Grover (Seneca H.S./Southampton, N.J.) added 19 points after making 9 of 18 field goal attempts with seven rebounds.
Junior forward
Emily Caswell (Prout School/Wakefield, R.I.) led the Cougars by scoring a team-high 27 points while senior forward
Jeanette Anderson (Lynn English H.S./Lynn, Mass.) added 15 points with 12 rebounds.
Game Notes:
• The Lightning are now 3-1 in neutral site games this season.
• The win allowed the Lightning to avenge a 62-59 loss against Caldwell on Feb. 16 at the George R. Newman Center … Caldwell still holds a 13-6 all-time series advantage and has won four of the last six games.
• The Lightning outrebounded Caldwell by a 50-40 margin on Saturday, marking the 9th time in the last 11 games they have held the rebounding advantage over an opponent.
• With Saturday's win, the Lightning have guaranteed at least a .500 record for the fifth consecutive season … Over the last five years, Goldey-Beacom has averaged 17.8 wins per season … It is also the sixth time in school history the Lightning have reached 15 wins in a single campaign.
• The Lightning will play in their 30th game of the season on Sunday afternoon, matching a school record for games in a single season … Goldey-Beacom also played 30 games during the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons.
• Chukwueze became the first Goldey-Beacom player to score 30 or more points in a game since
Janae Weldon tallied 30 points against Holy Family on Mar. 5, 2011 … In addition, the 34 points are the most scored by a Lightning player in a game since Feb. 28, 2007 when
Cherrise Graham had 36 points at Dominican.
• Chukwueze moved into fifth place on the Lightning's single-season scoring list and will enter Sunday's championship game with 463 points in 29 games this season.
• Richmond-Peters has now recorded 10 or more rebounds in six consecutive games … After grabbing 10 rebounds in Saturday's victory, she has moved into second place on the Lightning's single-season rebounds list … She will need 14 rebounds in Sunday's championship game to become the first player in school history to record 300 rebounds in a single season.
• Richmond-Peters now has 567 career rebounds, which ranks eighth in school history.
• Richmond-Peters moved into a tie for fifth place on the Lightning's career games played list by making the 110th appearance of her college career, joining
Toni Jones (2004-08),
Akilah Sewell (2009-13) and Weldon.
• With four blocked shots against Caldwell on Saturday, Grover became the third player in school history to post 50 or more blocked shots in a single season … She will enter Sunday's championship game needing two blocked shots to move into second place on the single season list.
