Sophomore guard Alexa Giuliano had 11 points and senior forward Sade Idera added 10 for Morris Catholic. Anna Toke had nine points and Devin D'Amico had eight.
The Crusaders, whose last setback to Chatham was Friday in overtime in a Morris County Tournament semifinal, will split league honors with the Cougars. Chatham (22-2) has claimed the last two NJAC-Independence Division crowns.
Morris Catholic has not lost at home since Feb. 16, 2010 when it was beaten by the Cougars, 53-50.
"This feels really good," Crusaders sophomore center Anna Toke said. "I guess the third time's a charm. At least we have a piece of the conference. We knew we hadn't lost here in awhile and wanted to keep it going."
Trailing 11-9 after the first quarter, Morris Catholic outscored the visitors 14-5 in the second period to pull ahead, 23-16, at halftime. Toke, Idera and D'Amico had six points apiece in the opening half.
"I think they did a good job on the boards," Chatham coach Joe Gaba said. "We had a hard time rebounding and keeping them off the glass. The Toke girl killed us and we had to play catchup. Jess and Sade hit shots they didn't hit the other night.
"I didn't know what to expect coming in. We could win or lose by 10. It was a good game. We have a big week ahead of us and we stayed sharp."
Toke, Porada and Idera provided excellent rebounding. Toke had six and Porada and Idera had five each. In addition, Toke blocked five shots.
The Cougars cut Morris Catholic's lead to four, 26-22, in the third period on Amanda Berntsen's layup with 5:48 left. The Crusaders countered with a basket and free throw to boost it back up.
Two minutes, 13 seconds into the fourth quarter, Chatham received a 3-pointer from Kendall Davies and closed the gap to three again, 37-34. Once again, Morris Catholic staved off the threat. This time, it was with an eight-point run highlighted by Giuliano's 3-pointer and a three-point play by Porada.
Berntsen, a senior guard, led the Cougars with 20 points. Davies had nine points, all on 3-pointers.
"We made sure to guard the 3s," Toke asid. "If Devin got beat, we'd step in the lane. We tried to keep Berntsen from scoring."
