Posted: Mar 09, 2024
JEFFERSON AND CHESTNUT HILL ADVANCE TO CACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONHIPS FINAL
The top two South Division teams were victorious Saturday in the semifinals of the 2023-24 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women’s Basketball Championship at the Newman Center in Caldwell, NJ.
The highlight on Saturday was a close game between Thomas Jefferson University and Holy Family University, as the Rams pulled away from the Tigers in the final minutes to remain perfect in CACC play winning 65-57.
In the other semifinal, Chestnut Hill College led wire-to-wire en route to a 66-48 victory over Goldey Beacom College.
Jefferson and Chestnut Hill will meet up in the CACC Championship Final on Sunday at 2:30 PM in Caldwell, with the winner earning the league’s automatic bid to next weekend’s NCAA Division II East Region Tournament at a site to be determined. When these teams met in the regular season, Jefferson swept the series 57-51 and 72-61.
S#1 Jefferson 65 S#3 Holy Family 57 BOXSCORE
Holy Family led multiple times during the game, but Jefferson used a 22-2 run to take a 53-37 lead in the fourth quarter. The Tigers managed to tie the game with 2:36 left at 53 all, preventing Jefferson from scoring for over six minutes. But Jefferson scored 12 of the final 16 points in the final 2:22 to take the lead for good.
Haley Meinel and Sam Yencha combined for 35 points (17 points and 18 points, respectively) to lead the scoring for the Rams. Meinel, who won Defensive Player of the Year, also had four steals. Morgan Robinson provided 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. All-CACC First Teamer Taylor Hinkle was Holy Family’s top performer with a 15 point, 12 rebound double-double.
S#2 Chestnut Hill 66 S#4 Goldey-Beacom 48 BOXSCORE
Chestnut Hill took the lead early and never trailed in the game as they moved on to the CACC Women’s Basketball Championships Final. The Griffins started off hot leading 11-0 after five minutes in the first quarter. Goldey-Beacom cut the lead to five in the second quarter, but Chestnut Hill extended the lead to double-digits later in the quarter and cruised in from there.
Avery White led the Griffins with 16 points, going 6-7 from the line, and six rebounds. Caleigh Edwards was the other Griffin to hit double digit points with 10. Rory Ciszkowski was the top performer for the Lightning with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.