A near fourth-quarter comeback almost was completed, but Goldey-Beacom in the end was handed a 64-54 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss by Chestnut Hill at the Jones Center in Wilmington, DE.
Chestnut Hill looked like it had the game in hand with an explosive third quarter, outscoring Goldey-Beacom 23-9 by shooting 67 percent (10-of-15) from the field for a 56-35 lead. Lauren Crim poured in nine points on a trio of 3-pointers with Leah Miller and Rachael Millan adding four points apiece.
The margin grew to 58-35 with 8:08 remaining before the Lightning embarked on a furious comeback. They went on a 17-2 burst in which they shot 7-of-10 from the field and held the Griffins to 1-of-6 for a 60-52 deficit with 2:31 to play. Sophomores Lexi Weikert (Harrisburg, PA) and Alexis Harrison (Millville, NJ) netted five points apiece.
But Chestnut Hill held on, getting a layup from Cassie Sebold with 2:14 remaining and another from Miller 36 seconds later for a 64-52 margin.
Harrison netted 11 points to go with seven rebounds, sophomore Sarah Round (Northampton, England) also scored 11 with senior Jill Latanowich (Newton, MA) getting seven rebounds for the Lightning, who shot 47 percent (8-of-17) from the floor in the final period.
Crim and Sebold scored 19 points apiece with Bri Hewlett adding 12 for the Griffins, who shot 47 percent overall (26-of-55) from the floor.
Goldey-Beacom (8-16, 8-8) now sits two games behind Chestnut Hill (11-14, 10-6) and Jefferson (10-6) for the final conference-tournament spot from the CACC South Division with three games left. Only two of these teams will make the tournament's field of eight.
Goldey-Beacom is home Saturday against Georgian Court for a 1:00 pm contest.
