Chatham, Westminster women earn opening-round victories

Chatham, Westminster women earn opening-round victories

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2016-17 PAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament
First Round
Monday, February 20
7 p.m. No. 8 Westminster 55, No. 5 Grove City 49
7 p.m. No. 7 Chatham 74, No. 6 Bethany 61
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, February 22
7 p.m. No. 6 Chatham at No. 3 Saint Vincent (Quarterfinal 1)
7 p.m. No. 8 Westminster at No. 4 Waynesburg (Quarterfinal 2)
Semifinals (Thomas More to host Friday's semifinal round and Saturday's championship)
Friday, February 24
6 p.m. Winner of Quarterfinal 1 vs. No. 2 W&J
8 p.m. Winner of Quarterfinal 2 at No. 1 Thomas More
Championship (Thomas More to host Friday's semifinal round and Saturday's championship)
Saturday, February 25
4 p.m. Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. winner of Semifinal 2

GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – Sixth-seeded Chatham University and eighth-seeded Westminster College gutted out tough road wins in Monday’s first round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament.

Chatham (13-12) downed sixth-seeded Bethany College (12-14) 74-61 at Hummel Fieldhouse in Bethany, West Virginia, while Westminster (11-15) edged fifth-seeded Grove City College (14-12) 55-49 at the Grove City College Arena.

In Wednesday’s quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Waynesburg University (15-10) will host eighth-seeded Westminster at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, while third-seeded Saint Vincent College (16-9) will welcome sixth-seeded Chatham to the Robert S. Carey Center in Latrobe, Pa. Both quarterfinal matchups are slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

Wednesday's quarterfinal winners will travel to top-seeded Thomas More College’s Connor Convocation Center for the semifinal and championship rounds Friday and Saturday. Second-seeded Washington & Jefferson College (16-9) will face off against the Saint Vincent-Chatham winner Friday at 6 p.m., followed by Thomas More (25-0) hosting the Waynesburg-Westminster winner in the nightcap at 8 p.m. The championship tournament’s title game is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m.

Admission to all PAC Championship Tournament contests is $5 for adults and $2 for students, with students at PAC host institutions admitted for free with valid ID. Championship tournament programs will be on sale for $1.

The winner of the PAC’s Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to this year's Division III Championship Tournament, which gets underway March 3.

2016-17 PAC Championship Tournament highlights
Monday, February 20 – Grove City, Pa.
First Round
No. 8 Westminster 55, No. 5 Grove City 49 Box Score
Grove City senior guard Jackie Stewart’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) layup with 2:17 to play in the fourth quarter trimmed Westminster’s lead to just one, 50-49, but that was as close as the Wolverines would get in Monday’s first round matchup.

Westminster led by just one, 14-13, after the opening quarter and held a 25-24 advantage late in the second before senior guard Rachel Durbin (Lowellville, Ohio/Lowellville) drained a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to give the Titans a 28-24 lead heading into the break.

Junior forward Kylie Cook (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) knocked down a jumper with just under two minutes to play in the third to stretch Wesminster’s lead to a game-high eight, 40-32, but a 5-0 Grove City run that covered the final 1:39 of the period would trim the visitor’s lead to one, 40-39, heading into the fourth.

Westminster first-year forward Emily Fromknecht (Erie, Pa./McDowell) finished with a career-high 18 points and registered her fifth double-double of the season after totaling 10 rebounds. She also had a game-high six blocks, which ranks second among the school’s single game leaders. First-year guard Aliya Gage (New Castle, Pa./Mohawk) chipped in with seven points and 10 boards.

Grove City junior forward Lexie Arkwright (Mercer, Pa./Mercer) led the Wolverines with a game-high 20 points to go with six rebounds and three steals while freshman forward Kate Balcom (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) added 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Monday’s tournament opener between Westminster and Grove City was the first postseason meeting between the two schools in exactly 10 years (a 67-46 Westminster win on Feb. 20, 2007).
 
Monday, February 20 – Bethany, W.Va.
First Round
No. 7 Chatham 74, No. 5 Bethany 61 Box Score
Chatham senior forward Jesse Hinkle (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) tied her career high with a 22-point effort in Monday’s first round win. She added 10 rebounds in the victory, marking her fifth double-double of the season, and first this year with at least 20 points.  

A jumper from junior forward Kelsea Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) with just over three minutes to play in the second period stretched Bethany’s lead to 10, 26-16, but a pair of threes from sophomore guard Natalie Knab (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) and another from senior guard Nikki Ingel (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) down the stretch would see Chatham cut the lead down to five, 30-25, going into the half.

The third quarter featured four ties, but sophomore guard Katelyn Sieg’s (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic) jumper with four seconds remaining would give Chatham a 49-45 lead heading into the fourth.

Sophomore guard Sammie Weiss’ (Avella, Pa./McGuffey) three-pointer with 6:35 to play pushed Bethany ahead by one, 51-50, but a 10-0 Chatham run over the ensuing 2:14 would put the visitors on top for good. Hinkle scored six of her 22 in the game’s final 2:40.

Katelyn Sieg added 19 points and five rebounds while junior guard Megan Sieg (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Serra Catholic) chipped in with 10 points and four assists. Knab finished with 12 after drilling 4-of-7 three-point attempts.

Monday's win marked the first time in program history that Chatham has posted first-round victories in back-to-back years.

Daugherty led the Bison and registered her 19th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. She finishes the season with 295 rebounds, the third-highest single-season total in school history. Weiss chipped in with 18 points, while senior guard Hayley Holenka (Shadyside, Ohio/Shadyside) finished her Bison career with 12 points in the loss.