PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – It was another big weekend conference test for Post University Women's Basketball following their week off as the Eagles traveled to face Chestnut Hill College, a team that has moved onto the regional radar as they are tied for seventh with Holy Family University in this week's D2CSC East Region Poll, and winners of 11 straight games.
 
Entering the day, the Griffins had only lost one conference game to nationally-ranked Jefferson University, a team that Post lost to a couple of weekends ago by double-digits on the road, making this the fourth big conference test for the Eagles who played Dominican (N.Y.) in a CACC Championship rematch, regionally-ranked Holy Family, and those same nationally-ranked Rams thus far.
 
After trailing by 15 points in the third quarter, a combined 21 second-half points from graduate guards Maya Klein and TiJanae Simmons along with six fourth-quarter points from graduate forward Trinity Bravo helped the Eagles mount a comeback victory over the Griffins to snap that 11-game winning streak, 62-56, as Post moved to 7-2 in conference play.

THE BASICS

Post University 62, Chestnut Hill College 56

Post University (12-7, 7-2 CACC)
 
Chestnut Hill College (15-6, 9-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED 
It was rough sledding to start the game for the Eagles who were 2-for-14 in the opening 10 minutes of the game and fell behind immediately following the jump. Freshman guard Bridie McCann and junior center Emily Sekerak helped Chestnut Hill take a quick 7-2 lead before graduate forwards Taina Pagan and Bravo went on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit down to one, 7-6. At that point, the Griffins went on an 8-0 run as McCann hit her second three of the first before both teams would go silent.
 
For over three minutes, neither side would be able to make a basket until Klein's jumper with 41 seconds left which was immediately met with a three by junior guard Bri Rider as Chestnut Hill took a double-digit lead, 18-8, into the second.
 
Momentum would carry into the second for the Griffins as freshman guard Caraline Herb hit a three to give her team a 13-point edge which the Eagles would be unable to cut down to less than eight. On three occasions, Chestnut Hill would lead by as many as 14 points and carry an 11-point lead into the half after Klein hit a three before the halftime buzzer to make it a 33-22 game.
 
Neither team would shoot the ball particularly well by the end of the first half with the Griffins going 12-of-31 overall (38.7%) while the Eagles were 8-of-29 (27.6%). But the difference maker would be in the three-point efficiency in which Post was 4-of-18 (22.2%), with Klein making three of those shots, compared to 6-of-9 (66.7%) for Chestnut Hill who had four different players make a triple. McCann led the way with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting heading into the break with two threes made while Klein was Post's lead scorer with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting with 3-of-7 three-pointers made.
 
Momentum began to shift in favor of the Eagles after back-to-back shots by McCann looked to blow the doors open on the game with the Griffins leading by a game-high 15 points with 6:15 remaining. That would be when Klein and Simmons would take control of the game and will Post back into it as Klein hit a pair of big threes and Simmons added in one of her own. Along the way, junior guard Naj White and graduate point guard Dede Stevenson would get a pair of baskets as well and what was once a 15-point deficit suddenly turned into the Eagles trailing by just five, 43-38, following a 13-3 run over the rest of the third.
 
The red-hot second half would continue for Simmons when she knocked down two more threes to start the fourth around a layup from sophomore guard Avery White to bring Post within one with 7:53 remaining in regulation. After a turnover by the Griffins, it would be Bravo giving the Eagles their first lead of the game with her jumper, 46-45, and then Simmons hitting yet another long-range shot to cap a 7-0 run for Post that gave them a four-point advantage at the 6:26 mark.
 
Just after a pair of free throws to kick off a 5-0 run for the Griffins, McCann, the leading scorer for Chestnut Hill, would head to the bench for almost six minutes down the stretch of a game that saw six lead changes during the time she was not on the floor. First, it was Pagan and Sekerak exchanging baskets, then Bravo scoring four straight Eagle points around a Sekerak shot, and eventually, the lead would widen after some free throws from Stevenson and a big rejection by Bravo.
 
With McCann finally subbed back into the game, she would look to trim the deficit to one with 18 seconds but her three would be off the mark and Stevenson would convert on another free throw to make it a six-point lead, 60-54. McCann would go on to hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left and a turnover from senior guard Kaitlyn Carter ended the Griffin's chances of tying things up as graduate point guard Le'Sandra Turner got the steal and score to close out the 62-56 victory for Post.

BY THE NUMBERS   

• Maya Klein scored 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting and a 5-for-10 day from three – Klein has now reached double-digit points in 11 straight conference games and eight games overall
• TiJanae Simmons had a season-high 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting with all six shots coming from three – Simmons also attempted a season-high 14 three-point shots
• Bridie McCann led Chestnut Hill with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting and was the only Griffin to score in double figures – McCann was notably off the floor for a crucial six-minute stretch of the fourth
• This is the second time this season in which Post University has snapped their opponent's double-digit winning streak after taking down Holy Family University earlier this season who was riding a 13-game win streak entering that game
• Against regionally and nationally-ranked teams this season, Post University is now 3-2 this season

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University finishes up their two-game road trip with a matchup against Dominican (N.Y.) on Tuesday night at 5:30 PM in Orangeburg, New York. Earlier this season in a rematch of last season's CACC Championship Game, it was the Eagles getting their revenge with an 88-75 win in which five Post players scored in double figures.