February 10, 2016
Arkwright jumper, block edge Grove City past Chatham
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Sophomore guard Lexie Arkwright (Mercer, Pa./Mercer) made a driving jumper with five seconds remaining and blocked Katelyn Sieg's last-second shot attempt to lift the Grove City College women's basketball team to a 56-55 win at Chatham in Presidents' Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening in Chatham's Athletic and Fitness Center.
Senior forward Kathryn Erbelding (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Olympia) posted her second-straight 20-10 game with game-highs of 21 points, 11 rebounds and four steals while Arkwright filled the stat sheet with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.
The two teams battled to an 8-8 tie through one quarter, but Erbelding scored the first four points of the second quarter to give Grove City (11-11, 9-6 PAC) a 12-8 lead. The Wolverines would hold the lead throughout the quarter, making their living by going 8 of 10 from the foul line to lead the Cougars (9-13, 5-10) 28-23 at halftime.
Erbelding led all scorers with 12 first-half points while Lynnae Whitehead posted nine for Chatham. Grove City held the Cougars to just 26 percent shooting in the first half.
After trading baskets at the start of the third quarter, Chatham would go on a 10-2 run to lead 36-32 at the midpoint of the period. An Arkwright three-point play would bring the Wolverines back even with the Cougars at 40-40 at the 1:36 mark, but Ashley McClain would answer with a three to give Chatham a 43-40 lead before junior Jackie Stewart (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) closed the quarter with a pair of free throws to make it 43-42 at the end of three.
Chatham would lead by as much as four in the fourth quarter at 50-46 with 5:33 left in regulation, but the Wolverines clawed back, as freshman Laura Buchanan (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) made a three-point play and Erbelding hit three of four from the line to put Grove City back on top 52-51 with just 2:31 to play.
Sieg would hit a jumper to put Chatham back on top and, after Erbelding made a jumper to give Grove City a 54-53 lead, followed her own miss for a putback to give Chatham a 55-54 lead with 1:23 to play. A Grove City turnover would give Chatham a chance to seal the victory, but the Cougars gave the ball back to the Wolverines, and Grove City called a timeout with 24 seconds remaining. That would set up the final Wolverine possession, and Arkwright drove down the baseline for a layup off the glass to give Grove City the 56-55 victory.
For the game, Grove City shot 44 percent (19 of 43) from the field and 74 percent (17 of 23) from the foul line while holding Chatham to just 32 percent (18 of 57) shooting. The Cougars out-rebounded the Wolverines 35-34.
Stewart dished a game-high five assists on her 21st birthday while Buchanan added seven rebounds and three blocks for the Wolverines.
With the victory, Grove City remains alone in third place in the PAC standings at 9-6, leading fourth-place Waynesburg by one game. The Wolverines visit Saint Vincent (11-11, 6-9 PAC) Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in conference action.
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